
Class 



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^ 



4 













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, X WftKELEE « (0., DRUCcisrs, ^r-y 



SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 

General Depot in Ctiicag^o, 






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A<^ 






^.'^%\%>t. ^^^^ * BLOCKI, Druggists and Perfumers .r/^ 






No. Ill RANDOLPH STREET. 



/ 






WILLIAH J. DINQEE 

Invites Correspondence Appertaining to 

REAL ESTATE 

—IN— 

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 




THE QUEEIS CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 



Unsurpassed as a place of residence; i^ minutes by ferry from San Frati- 
cisco. Salubrious climate; Jiinety m.iles of Macadamized streets; public 
Schools, Electric and Cable Railway systems; subtirban drives and 
bearitifut views from the heights; population inside the city limits^ 
60,000; including suburbs, 100,000. 

We have for sale beautiful Homes for all, from Cosy Cottages to Elegant 
Modern Dwellings. Large tracts of laiid subdivided and sold at auc- 
tio^i or by private sale. Substantial Business Blocks in the Heat t of 
the City paying six and seven per cent per annum net on the investment. 
Catalogues sent on application. 

Easy terms arranged — small properties to be bought on payments of $100 
to $500 cash; balance $25 to $50 a mo7ith. 

Correspoyideyice promptly answered. 

WILLIAM J DINGEK, 
460 and 462 Eiglitli Street, Oakland, California. 



- ^ THE LITERATURE OF THE ^— - _ 

Kern County Land Company 

CAPITAL $10,000,000. 

IS NOW ENJOYING A WIDE REPUTATION FOR ACCURACY 
AND VARIETY OF INFORMATION. IT IS ATTRACTIVE, 
INTERESTING AND VALUABLE. WRITE FOR SAMPLES. 

S. W. FERGUSSON, AGENT, BAKERSFIELD, CAL. 




A clear title, rotation, varietj- and certainty of crops; easy terms; availability to persons in moderate 
circumstances; ground ready for the plow— no stones nor thistles; good society, schools, 
churches, etc., are a few of the noticeable attractions of this region of country. Below will be 
found the address from which to procure magazines, maps, books and every conceivable 
variety of descriptive matter pertaining to the lands of the KERN COUNTY LAND COMPANY, 
all procured for the asking. 




DIRHCTORS 



KERN COUNTY LAND COMPANY 



LLOYD TEVIS President. 

IRWIN 0. STUMP, Vice-President. 

F. G. DRUM, Secretary. 

W. F. GOAD. 

WM. S. TEVIS. 

HENRY WADSWORTH. 



{1NCORPOR.4TED) 



S. W. FERGUSSON, AGENT, 
■Bakersfield, - - California, 




FROM THE ARGONAUT.' 



CALIFORNIA 
1849. 



THE STORY OF THE FILES 



A REVIEW OF 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 



By 



ELLfl STERLING CUMMINS. 



■1fy[j,J^ ^Wjb. '^ 



ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE 

WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSION OF CALIFORNIA, 
COLUMBIAN Exposition, 1893. 



Copyright 1893 by Ella Steri,in<; Ci-mmins. 



HE LIBRA.TY OF 
JONORESS, 
On^^opy Received 

MAR. 23 1901 

COPVRIQH^, ENTRY 



CLASS XXc. Hp 
COPY A. 







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BY 

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SAN rRANCISCO, GAL. 



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(J- 



RESPECTFULIA' DEDICATED 

To THE 

me:mhkrs of the 

California World's Fair Commis.sion 

Irving M. Scott, James U. Phelan, S. W. Kergusson, 

John Daggett, K. McMurray, L.J. Rose, 

A. T. Hatch and T. H. Thompson. 

Under whose encouragement are now being presented 
to the world not only the products of California's soil, hut 
also the evidences of the culture and industry of her 
people. 



KEYNOTE. 



Aware that this "Story of the Files" of Californian magazines 
and journals, is, like all things human, far from being perfect, the 
author has only to say that it has been prepared mainly for the 
purpose of preserving the names, pictures and histories of the 
writers of long ago, those who are now dead and forgotten. 

The record of the writers of to-day may be added to and 
bettered by him who comes after. 

In these words of one of the brightest of the old-time journalists 
is to be found the pervading spirit of the " Story of the Files:" 

"No matter where uttered, a great thought never dies. It 
does not perish amid the snows of mountains, or the floods of 
rivers, or in the depths of valleys. For a time it may seeniingl}' 
be forgotten, but it is somewhere embalmed in memory, and after 
awhile reappears on the horizon like a long-gone star returning 
on its unchanging orbit, and on its way around the endless circle 
of eternity. " 

October^ i8p2, San Francisco, California. 



PRELUDE. 



The complete tale of the writers of California has not yet 
been told, and, possibly, never will be. During each epoch of 
Californian literature, however, mile-stones have been erected 
along the way, and some of these have been typical of the times. 
Such are Oscar Shuck's " Scrapbook of California Writers" and 
^'California Anthology," May Wentworth's "Poetry of the 
Pacific," Roman's " Outcroppings," Harr Wagner's "Short 
Stories of California Writers, " the Berkeley students' "College 
Verses," and Dewey's "Picturesque California." 

The first series of sketches upon the subject appeared in 1881 
in the San Francisco Chronicle. These sketches, about fifty in 
number, entitled "California Authors," were very interesting, 
and were the work of Flora Haines Longhead. A similar series 
was presented in the San Francisco Morniiig Call in 1889, 
prepared by the late Emilie Tracy Y. Parkhurst, who intended to 
produce them later in book form. This proposed work was to 
make a companion volume to the one here presented, as the 
material she had gathered was of later waiters, and those of the 
present day, rather than of the past, containing many names ot 
young writers of the Pacific Coast generally, and of women par- 
ticularly. 

An interesting article on "Early Books, Magazines, and 
Book-making," by Charles Howard Shinn, appeared in the 
Overland Monthly, October, 1888. There was a brief but vivid 
sketch in the Cosmopolitan in the autumn of 1891 — a condensed 
history, as it were, of the subject, by Gertrude Franklin Atherton. 
In the voluminous work of Bancroft (in Essays, Miscellany, Vol. 
38), some attention has been given to the literary workers of 
the coast. During this year of 1892, Joaquin Miller has been 
contributing felicitous sketches to the San Francisco Mor^iing 
Call upon the writers he has known from early times. The 



6 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

natural kindness of his heart has made him bring to notice some 
poems and poets little known in their own country. 

In November, 1891, was begun a series of sketches in the San 
Francisco Wasp, under the encouragement of General Backus and 
D. S. Richardson, proprietor and editor respectively of that 
journal. The onl}' thing which marked this series as different 
from the others was its method of classification. It divided the 
writers into separate schools, according to the times, and to the 
journal or magazine, and began at the beginning. It was not so 
much a history of the writers of California as it was of the journals 
and magazines for which they wrote. During the six months 
that these sketches appeared letters were received from even the 
most remote parts of the State, and comments were made in many 
journals. The " Story of the Files " touched a common chord of 
interest — a sympathetic note had been struck. The magnitude 
of the work attempted was comprehended mostly by those of the 
sanctum, as, for instance, the following letter from one of the 
brightest of Californian journalists of either the past or the 
present, will show : 

" The series is very interesting, and so far has been done 
with rare discrimination. I hope you are not going to get too 
excited over your work and die of insomnia before you finish it. 
Take it cool. Skip a week or two. The interest will endure all 
the same. Yours most truly, 

Joseph T. Goodman." 

Meanwhile, the writer had become absorbed in her task. The 
subject had a fascination that claimed her waking and sleeping 
hours. She haunted places where were to be found musty files of 
journals, and lived in the olden days once more ; attended theatri- 
cal performances now forgotten, and heard voices of those like 
Matilda Heron and Edwin Forest, now hushed forever. The old 
advertisements brought back the names heard in childhood ; old 
politics made Colonel Baker alive once more. Issuing into the 
crowded street of later San Francisco, she carried with her these 
shadows of the past — carried them home with her to sup at her 
board and haunt her dreams. It was so uncanny an experience 
that she was not sorry when the Wasp changed hands and the 
sketches were no longer needed. But there were those who were 



PRELUDE. 7 

not satisfied — who still wrote letters asking for the series to be 
completed, and to be published in book form. The writer, not 
wishing to become a victim to monomania, evaded the responsi- 
bility — though the spell of the past was still on her. She knew 
that the work could never be done in perfection ; that all these 
files could not be reduced to a volume — and why attempt anything 
less ? 

There were two or three, however, who never ceased insisting 
upon the final completion of the work — two or three who seemed 
to have faith in the writer's capability for the task. Out of that 
faith comes this volume. With fear and trembling the writer 
enters upon this broad field of research, knowing that there will 
be imperfections in the work ; that there will be omissions and 
misapprehensions ; but with love and affection for the.se .shadows 
of the past, who are dear to her as her own kith and kin. Others 
could bring to bear upon the subject more skill, more technique, 
or as one of our authors says, "more icicle drippings of the 
intellect." But the writer, who was born in the mines, cradled 
in a gold-rocker, and grew up in a quartz-mill, knew many of 
these shadows as living realities, from her childhood, and honored 
and adored them. Thus it has become a labor of love. 

In taking up the theme, "Californian Writers and Literature, ' ' 
the chief object in view is to make, as nearly as po.ssible, a record 
for reference, of the writers, large and small, who have been, or 
who have become identified with the State or coast. Beginning 
with the earliest journals and magazines, the desire is to represent 
the growth of our literature for the past forty years — and it is a 
remarkable exhibit — to record the names therein found of writers 
of verse — short story writers, novelists and journalists, each in 
his or her proper .school. 

There are choice mono-poems which are treasured in scrap- 
books, but not to be found elsewhere. And there are short 
stories, which are celebrated in the memory of the "oldest inhabi- 
tant," but otherwise not known, nor to be found outside the 
ephemeral journals in which they appeared. 

And though the tale of these writers may never be told com- 
pletely, yet in the perusal of these journals of the past we may 
obtain a faint glimpse of those who.se memories will always be 



8 CAI.IKOKNIAN WKITKKS AND LITKKATURK. 

connected with Californian literature. In the ' 'Story of the Files' ' 
is told their history. They came, they wrote, they passed away ; 
but what they have written, all united, now constitutes what we 
have of literature, good, bad, or inditVerent. And it is to discuss 
the work of these busy miuds and busy pens, now resting, many 
of them in the Eternal Silence (whither we all are hastening), 
that this backward glance is given. 

It is hoped that as a result of this discussion we shall be 
enabled to discover the ingredients which combine to make 
a story or a poem or a sketch or a novel popular with the public. 

A cold, critical survev of Californian literature will be the 
style of treatment ; no personalities shall be discussed, but there 
will be presented the work of authors, and examples of each 
one's style, vivid sentences, epigrams or lines. 

In order to confine the limits of the " Story of the Files " to 
one volume, it becomes necessar}- to make a choice from all this 
rich material. The line, then, distinctly drawn, is in favor of 
those journals and magazines which apparently have encouraged 
the growth of Californian literature. And nearly all of these have 
had their birth-place in the city of San Francisco. 

The story of Californian literature began in the early fifties 
with the old Golden Era. This journal was the medium of much 
pleasantry between and among the miners ; so much so, that in the 
drama of " M'liss " reference is made to it as a " t^-pical topic of 
their con\'ersation." Then came Hutchhigs California Maga- 
zine, in which the Yo.semite \'alley was written up for the first 
time completely by the author of "The Heart of the Sierras." 
Next among the dearest memories of the pioneers, in the way of 
powerful writing came, during war times, the Sacramento Union, 
with James Anthony and Paul Morrill as editors, and the Terri- 
torial Enterprise of Nevada, with J. T. Goodman as editor, which 
two papers are now believed to be the finest examples of early 
journalism in the West. 

Connected with the growth of literary expression were the 
Sunday Mercury and the Weet^ly Californian, published in San 
Francisco, journals of the early sixties, the former under J. Mac- 
donough Foard : the latter managed by Charles Henry Webb. 



J'RK/.UDK. 9 

In r86S came the Overland, with Kret Harteas editor. This 
magazine was the first distinctively literary production, and it 
gave the first proof of " the existence of a peculiarly characteristic 
Western American literature." The bound files of the old Over- 
land 2L.Xic eagerly sought for to-day. No Californian's library is 
complete without them. 

Then followed the /It^onaiil in 1876, foundefl by Fred M. 
Somers and Frank M. Fixley, afterward under the editorship of 
Jerome Hart, which developed a peculiar and powerful school of 
writing, distinctively Californian. The files of this journal con- 
tain unset gems in the way of short stories, which made a .sen- 
sation at the time of their appearance and were copied in the old 
worlrl ;is well as the new. In addition to these are the fervid 
utterances of Frank .M. Pixley, for these many years, upon the 
general theme of "Americanism," and the notable" Dramatic 
Criticism" of the late Mrs. Joseph Austin, under the name of 
" Hetsy H. ' 

A very clever but short-lived journal was 7'he I'orlico, of 
the same period. Both the Jipifrram and The Californiayi Magazine 
were founded and edited by Fred M. Somers. After an existence 
of two years, the latter was turned into the later Overland, under 
the management of Millicent W. Shinn. This magazine has a 
school (S writers of its own. 

TIk- San Francisco News Letter, founded by Marriott, Sr., 
has always been ably edited, and occupies a field peculiar to 
itself. 

The Waap, the oldest cartoon paper in colors in the United 
States, was founded by Korbel Brothers in 1876, and has always 
been devoted to the brief and pithy things of literature. 

The Ingieside, an offshoot of the Argonaut, under Henry 
McDowell, assisted by Henry Bigelow, had a brief but brilliant 
literary career — every page full of vivid writing. 

About this time, 1884, the Golde?i lira was revived in 
magazine form under Harr Wagner, and became the medium of 
utterance for new writers with original ideas, if sometimes crude 
in expression. 

The San Frajiciacan was founded by Joseph T. Goodman, 
assisted by Arthur Mciiwen, and completed by W. H. Harrison, 



lO CAMFORNIAN WRITERS ANI> LITER ATL'KR. 

lu its bound files it presents a couple of volumes of the choicest, 
most elegant English — a credit to the language — besides con- 
taining stories and sketches of great originality. 

Meanwhile, in journalism, many dailies and weeklies have 
been born, some fated, like 

" The rank weeds, to die in tlie mornins; lisiit," 

and others, by good fortune, to flourish for many years. These 
latter ones are the well-known journals, the Alia California, the 
Evening Bulletin, the Mornijig Call, the J/orni//g Chronicle^ the 
Morning Examiner, the Ez'ening Post, the Evening Report, and 
many others, containing the work of our very best writers, and 
each requiring a volume in itself to tell its history. 

Among the last ones inaugurated is the weekly journal 
owned and edited by J. O'Hara Cosgrave and Hugh Hume, the 
Wave, which has a strong literary flavor, though distinctly devoted 
to society. Of the magazines, the last is the Illustrated Cali- 
foniian, under the direction of Charles F. Holder, who came 
here with honors from the East, and who has brought out, par- 
ticularly, the writers of the southern part of the State. 

Besides these regular journals and monthlies, there have 
been published volumes to the number of six or seven hundred 
or more. Poetry and prose have been given to the world in tiny 
volumes and in bulk}^ ones. Few of theni are from skillful pens, 
though many are original and odd. The chief difficulty seems 
to be that it is youth which has the courage to publish its maiden 
eifort ; but when years creep on, and the workmanship is of 
more finished quality, the enthusiasm has died out, and nothing 
further appears in book form. 

To this class of novels belong, " Boutul Down," by Mrs. 
Thomas Fitch ; " Robert Greathouse," by John vSwift ; " Dare," 
by Mary W. Glasscock; "On the Verge," by Philip Shirley; 
"The Little Mountain Princess," by the writer ; "The Man Who 
Was Guilty," by Flora Haines Longhead; "Sacrifice," by Will 
S. Green; "Braxton's Bar," by RoUin M. Daggett. 

Our poets have given to the world some really finished work, 
if not great. Clarence Urmy's " Rosary of Rhyme," Madge 
Morris' "Debris," (tCu. Lucius H. Foote's " Red-Letter Day," 



PRELUDE. II 

Carrie Stevens Walter's " Rose Ashes," Lillian Hinman Shuey's 
" California Sunshine," Virna Wood's " Queen of the Amazons " 
— all are of unusual delicacy for first volumes. 

Our great writers speak for themselves. The humorists, 
such as George Derby and J. Ross Brown, were the advance 
guard of a host to follow, better known, perhaps, but not so 
fondly remembered ; Bret Harte, with his mastery of English 
and study of peculiar human nature ; Mark Twain, with his per- 
ennial spring of humor, freshening and revivifying each theme he 
touches ; Prentice Mulford, with his delicate philosophy ; Charles 
Warren Stoddard, with his poetic imagery ; Richard Realf, whose 
recognition has been tardy, but none the less complete ; Joaquin 
Miller, whose poetry is the genuine article, and whose prose is vivid 
and beautiful ; John Muir, whose descriptions of California are 
prose-poems from beginning to end ; John Vance Cheney, who 
has become identified with our literature ; Bancroft, with his tre- 
mendous library of historical record ; Edward R. Sill, with his 
vigorous verse — each of these has won his laurels in litera- 
ture, and we can neither add nor take away. Of the women 
writers of California, Gertrude F. Atherton, Kate D. Wiggin, 
and Ina D. Coolbrith have won recognition abroad as well as at 
home. 

But there are among our writers those whose names are 
scarcely known outside of California, who have given evidence 
of great skill and command of English, and fine delineation of 
character — who, in one single story (for instance, J. W. Gaily, 
in " Big Jack Small," or Yda Addis, in some of her brilliant per- 
formances), have proved a claim to extraordinary ability. 

The vivid tales of Emma Frances Dawson, Annie L,ake 
Townsend, Flora Haines Loughead, and others of the Argonaut 
school, have made a strong impression upon our literature. 

The wonder story is a natural product of the soil. From 
Ferdinand Ewer's "Eventful Nights of August 21st and 22d," 
in 1856, and W. H. Rhodes' " Remarkable Case of Summer- 
field," in 1868, down to the present day of Robert Duncan 
Milne's " Eighteen Centuries in Ice," W. C. Morrow's " Remark- 
able Case in Surgery," and Ambrose Bierce's " The Man and the 
Snake," we have had a full flowering of the literary orchid. 



12 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Pollock's poem, "Evening Through the Golden Gate," in 
1856, has not been supplanted in the hearts of the people ; nor 
has his "Parting Hour" been forgotten. John Ridge's poem 
to his wife, ' ' The Harp of Broken Strings, ' ' has not lost its 
exquisite sympathy with the beating of the human heart to-day. 

Of the sagebrush school of writers, such as John Swift in 
" Robert Greathouse," and Dan de Quille in the " Big Bonanza," 
each has laid the colors on the historic page with realistic brush. 
Our school of iournalists has produced writers of finished liter- 
ary style, such as Ambrose Bierce, Arthur McKwen, John Hamil- 
ton Gilmour, and others of great versatility, such as Henry Big- 
elow, Frank Millard and George H. Fitch ; and of vigor and 
originality, like Frank M. Pixley and W. H. Mills. Our vivid short 
stories at Christmas tide are evidence of the talent which rarely 
finds utterance the rest of the year. 

And yet from all this rich hoard, we cannot venture to pre- 
dict what Californian literature ma}^ yet become, although it is 
evident that all these writers of the past have become a force in 
shaping the quality and destiny of this literature which is to be. 

Thus it is that a record of these names is merely a duty to 
the public. There are writers yet to come whose genius will be 
equal to or greater than that of any in the past, who will have 
been unconsciously affected by the journalistic schools of the past 
or the piesent day. It will be worth while, therefore, to analyze 
this peculiar style of writing that has been developed among us, 
and to present for comparison these extracts — pithy, forcible, 
and excellent. 

Whether any of our own writers will ever produce a novel 
equal to " Ramona " in its picturesque completeness of Californian 
early life is a question, but that there are new fields for portrayal 
there is no doubt. The tone of the great novel of the future, 
judging by the powerful short stories which the Californian writer 
presents upon all occasions through the medium of our weekly 
journals and magazines, will be vivid, strong and rugged, rather 
than beautiful or artistic. 

Thus, the underbrush being cleared away, as it were, and a 
good trail having been made around the boulders, we enter upon 
our analysis of Californian literature. 




:f;vr>7ii:irTiv ^ -"f 



"»JV^ l-IIANl l~» < 




THE GOLiDEfl ERR SCHOOIi. 

KROrvl 1852-18S2. 

EDITORS: 

J. Macdonough Foard, Rollin M. Daggett, Joseph E. Lawrence, James Brooks, 
Gilbert B. Densmore, John. J. Hutchinson, J. M. Bassett, Hurr Wagner, E. T. Bunyan 
and others. 

COflTRIBUTOI^S: 

Francis Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Joaquin Miller, Charles Warren Stoddard, 
John R. Ridge, Joseph T. Goodman, Dan De Quille, A. Delano, Orpheus C. Kerr, 
Thomas Starr King, Fitzhugh Ludloiv, Henry E. Highton, Stephen Massett, Prentice 
Mulford, John C. Medley, Richard Henry Savage, Ada Clare, Occasia Owens, Eliza 
Pittsinger, Minnie Myrtle Millet', Adah Isaacs Menken, Sallie Goodrich, May Went- 
worth, Ina Coolbrith, Anna Morrison, Lulu Littleton, Mary Watson, Alice Kingsbury, 
Mary V. Tingley, Anna M. Fitch, Janette Phelps, Frances F. Victor and others. 



A great pile of rusty, musty tomes, breathing of "the velvet 
bloom of time," in a dark little room in an old Montgomery- 
street building ! It is the file of the Golden Era. 

The old advertisements are of themselves a historical record 
of those legendary days when the waters of the bay came up to 
Montgomery street, and the sketches, stories and poems breathe 
the flavor of the literature of that time. 

If this file could tell the tale of its goodly company, it would 
reveal much unwritten history now impossible to obtain. 



14 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



But the stor}' of its origin and its founders, J. Macdonough 
Foard and Rollin M. Daggett, has passed into record, and any 
one with a desire to trace up the stor}' may do so in the pioneer 
number of the revived Golden Era, in magazine form, some 
thirty-three years later, written for the occasion by the author. 

It was in December, 1852, that two young men, named 
Foard and Daggett, the first twenty-one, the latter but nineteen 
years of age, resolved to start a weekl}^ paper in San Francisco. 
At first they hired their type at the rate of thirty-five cents a 
thousand ems, for each issue, but soon afterward raised money 
enough to purchase a printing office of their own. It was a new 
sort of venture for that peculiar time, but the paper soon com- 
menced to work its way into the mines, and find a place in the 
affections of the miners — in fact, it almost immediately became 
the vadc inecum of every mining-camp in the State. 

Foard had come around 
the 'Horn,' and Daggett had 
come across the ' Plains, ' and 
they soon fell into the way of 
writing up their experiences 
in bright little sketches that 
appealed to the wanderers 
from comfortable homes in 
the East, giving them a liter- 
ature of their own, flavored 
with our peculiar soil. 

Up to 1854, the paper had 
quite a struggle, having manj'- 
a bout with the Sheriff" to 
prevent him putting from his 
lock on the door ; but by this 
time the experience obtained 
by the young editors began to be of some use to them. 

With an eye to picturesque effect, Daggett arrayed himseli 
in a red shirt and top-boots, and went traveling among the miners, 
getting enormous subscriptions wherever he went. The rate per 
year was five dollars, and for advertising they obtained whatever 
they asked, until they counted up a subscription list of nearly 




ROLLIN M. DAC.r.KTT. 



THE GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 



nine thousand, which, with the advertising patronage, yielded an 
income equaled by only one of the several daily papers then 
published in San I'Yancisco. . 

In those expensive days they sometimes paid as high as 
twenty-two dollars a ream 
for paper that now can be 
obtained for five or six dol- 
lars, and paid one dollar 
and twenty-five cents per 
thousand ems for composi- 
tion, that now brings forty 
cents. Quite a wonderful 
point in artistic excellence 
was attained when they in- 
troduced engra\ings, and 
copies sold at times for 
twenty-five cents apiece. 

But the principal charac- 
teristic in the Cioldeu Era 
— one which it retained 
throughout all its varia- 
tions and vicissitudes — 
one that made it different from all the papers which have suc- 
ceeded it — the one in fact which causes it to outlive tho.se of 
greater force and brilliancy, perhaps — is that of its peculiar 
human sympathy. It has always met its readers half-way, and, 
in fact, been more of a chronicler of people than events ; human 
nature, rather than the face of nature ; thoughts and feelings, 
rather than lakes and mountains ; making, indeed, the old files 
of the Golden Eta a sort of book of fate in which may be read the 
beginning of the career of many of our Californian celebrities 
before they had dreamed of greatness or had it tlirust upon 

them. 

There is, indeed, no publication so identified with Cali- 
fornia and her people as this self-same Golden Era ; and that it 
has continued an existence for thirty-three years is perhaps owing 
solely to this human element, reflecting as a mirror the life 
around it, and making it welcome wherever it goes. 




J. MacDONOUGH koro. 



l6 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Horace Greeley said of the paper, during his famous visit to 
California : ' It is the most remarkable paper ! To think of its 
power and influence when the population is so sparse and the 
mail facilities so poor.' 

But it was this human element that appealed to the hearts 
of its readers away up in their mountain fastnesses ; and the 
desire for it was so general that it triumphed over the diffi- 
culties of transportation. 

One of the chief attractions was a dramatic department, 
the first introduced by any paper in the State, and here may be 
read the whole history of the drama back to the early days. It 
became such a power that all the ' stars " rushed to the Era office 
upon arrival, to make a favorable impression and receive recog- 
nition. Its office became also a place of re.sort for all the celeb- 
rities of the day, many of whom contributed to the columns 
under a pseudonym. Under these circumstances, it could not 
fail to become a sort of school to the aspiring youth upon the 
outer edge of the circle, who was permitted only to look on and 
admire. 

Rollin M. Daggett, one of the originators, has been iden- 
tified with the literature cf California from that day to this, and, 
having published his works in book form, will be sketched fur- 
ther on under the head of ' Fiction.' 

J. Macdonough Foard is now in his sixties, a heavy-set 
man, looking like a Frenchman rather than an American, with 
his iron-gray moustache and fierce, blue-gray eyes, and, like 
many of the old pioneers, still lives in the greatness of the past. 

He is a descendant and bears the name of Commodore 
Macdonough, who was presented with a solid gold snuff-box, 
worth five hundred dollars, by the city of Albany, in honor of his 
signal victory on Lake Champlain. Born in Cecil count}-, Mary- 
land, Mr. Foard came to California in 1849. when a mere boy. 
For eight years he was a.>^sociated with Rollin M. Daggett in edit- 
ing and managing the Golden Era. 

Connected with tvpe and printers' ink, he returned from 
many different business positions always to his first love. 
He was at one time a member of the Board of Education, and 
wrote a valedictory in which his old-time Golden Era fluency is 



THE GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. I 7 

apparent. But, as a characteristic bit of style, nothing is better 
than an extract from his ' Vale ! ' in the Golden Era, in i860, 
upon disposing of the paper to J. E. Lawrence and James Brooks: 

" ' The Golden lira is no longer, like too many of its cotem- 
poraries, a mere phantom on the surface of newspaperdom, but 
may be regarded as ' a fxed fact ' in the record, and far beyond 
the influence of those sudden reverses which have served lo tumble 
into the dark and yawnmg tomb of forgetfulness many a luckless 
literary journal. Go where you may, within the vast confines of 
California — amid the denizens of the frozen north, 'where the 
flinty crest of wild Nevada ever gleams with snows,' among the 
hardy sons of toil whose strong arms are digging from the earth 
the glittering treasure which is enriching the world — among the 
yoemanry of our broad and fertile valley.s, who, ' far from the 
madding crowd's ignoble strife,' are silently adding to the 
glory and wealth of our rising vState ! — visit the family circles of 
our cities and towns, and there you will see the Golden lira with 
itsVich and teeming pages.' " 

The history of the (iolde?i lira school is best told in the 
words of the old editor and founder, J. Macdonough Foard : 

"Oh, yes! The Golden lira was a great paper, and, if the 
same policy hadl)een continued, it would be a great paper to-day. 
But I will tell you where we made the mistake, and that was 
when we let the women write for it. Yes, they killed it — they 
literally killed it, with their namby-pamby school-girl trash. 

" But the first five or six years it was grand. There has 
never been anything like it. vStarr King was a constant visitor 
and contributed anonymously. John R. Ridge, a half Cherokee 
and the handsomest man I ever saw, was quite a poet, and wrote 
for us under the name of 'Yellow Bird.' E. G. Paide— who.se 
' Patent Sermons,' ])ublished under the name of ' Don Jr.,' were 
copied from one end of the Union to the other — was a compositor 
and contributor, as were al.so Joseph T. Goodman and Bret 
Harte. Goodman was then a boy of eighteen, and afterward be- 
came famous as editor of the Territorial Enterprise. He has also 
written .some fine poems, notably that on the 'Death of Lincoln.' 

" Bret Harte was not much of a compositor, and occasionally 
he gave me a little .sketch or poem to help out, which I put in 



l8 CAIJFOKNIAN WRITRRS AND I.ITKR ATURE. 

unknown to the rest t)f the numagemcnt. After a while they 
would say, 'That's rather a nice little thing. Whose is it?' 
And I would say, ' Oh, I got it out of the box.' After a time he 
did so well that we took him on the staff, and from us he went to 
the Overland, where he became famous in a single day, as it 
were. I noticed just the other day (juite a long reference to the 
Golden lit a in a sketch of Bret llarte in a London paper. Oh, 
the Golden Era is known better and farther awaj^ than any paper 
that was ever pul)lished in California. 

"Charles Warren v^totldard began when he was but a mert^ 
boy, ami wrote under the name of ' Tip Pepperpod,' which name 
he was persuaded to drop and instead sign his real name. Henr\' 
E. llighton was one of our editorial writers in 1858. You know, 
he is the great lawyer now. He was a brilliant num. Watkins. 
under the name of ' Snicktaw,' wrote so successfully as a humor- 
ist that the people of Shasta sent him to the Legislature, where 
he created great merriment, keeping the Assembly in a constant 
roar. A. Delano, better known as ' OUl Block,' another humorist, 
was also an early and highly appreciated contributor. Orpheus 
C. Kerr and Dan de Ouille are names familiar to all old Califor- 
nians. Fit/.-llugh Ludlow was a regular hasheesh-eater. He 
was more than half crazy, but he wrote some good things. 

"I tell you, the Golde)i Era was a wonderful paper. The 
money just ilowed in, but I don't know where it all went. So, 
not liking the way things were going, I sold out in i860, and 
so did Daggett — to Brooks and Lawrence. Daggett, you know, 
has been American Minister to the Sandwich Lslands and has 
also represented the State of Nevada in Congre.^-s. \\\ 1S70 G. 
B. Densmore became a partner anil kept control for a nundjer of 
years. In 1877, J. M. Bassett took possession and conducted it 
with marked ability, as he is one of the most trenchant writers 
in the State. He sold out in 1881. Under Wagner and Buiiyan 
it became a sort of Young-IMen's-Chrislian- Association paper and 
temperance organ and I don't know what all. It nuist have sur- 
prised itself a good deal, I think. And now Harr Wagner has it 
and is introducing a sort of German mysticism. I don't go 
much on those things. 

'■ But I tell you, that in its palmy days the Golden Era was 



THE C.OLDEN ERA SCHOOL. I9 

one of the most wonderful papers that ever was, and I don't see 
why it did not continue so. If it hadn't been for the women — " 

I wonder if the present generation can appreciate the pathos 
of these old miners living in the great past ? Not long ago the 
Bxamifier said in its review column : 

" The Golden Jira has come to hand. While it is rather 
crude, yet there is a delightful crispness and flavor to it unlike 
any other publication. " 

And this review, with almost singular fitness, might be said 
of every issue in those good old times. The (ioldrn lira was 
?2<?z'(?r wonderful or great. In reading over those dear old fdes we 
see that it was altogether crude and queer. Those engravings — 
announced as a new and remarkable feature - are the queerest of 
the queer. But it is the memories stirred by every line and 
every advertisement, bringing up vivid pictures of the past, that 
make it hallowed. It never was wonderful or great any more 
than our grandmother was wonderful or great — l)Ut it is just as 
dear in its own peculiar way. 

In delving into these great tomes— musty and rusty-looking 
— we see many names heralded in the very largest of large type. 
Names, names, names ! but of them all only a tew have ever 
reached the outer world. Only those that were unheralded and 
unsung have made any impress wliatever. The most interesting 
things, indeed, are the mere fragments of these writers. 

Here is a .scrap of art criticism from Mark Twain, which cer- 
tainly is cri.sp enough to belong to him. The great picture of 
" vSamson and Delilah" (exhibited -in 1884, in the Mechanics' 
Institute), had just arrived from liurope, and was hanging in a 
well known saloon. vSays Mark, confidently, in Iiis role of art 
critic : 

"Now, what is the first thing you see in lo(;king at this 
picture down at the Bank Exchange ? Is it the gleaming eves and 
fine face of vSamson ? or the muscular Philistine gazing furtively 
at lovely Delilah ? or is it the rich drapery, or the truth to nature 
in that pretty foot ? No, sir. The first thing that catches the 
eye is the sci.ssors on the floor at her feet. Them scis.sors is too 
modern — there warn't no scissors like them in them days, by a 
d d sight. " 



20 CALIKORNIAN NVRITI^KS AND l.ITERATUKK. 

A delicate, fine little sketch appears from " Rret." It is only 
a brief description of the raising of a flag-staff, but it is beauti- 
fully done. Other sketches follow, leading up to the well-known 
idyl of " M'liss. " We trace them even without a name. He 
was then in his formative state, laying away those treasures of 
thought which were to last for a lifetime of literary work, init 
even then there is revealed the same carefulness of detail that the 
great Francis Bret Harte displays now in his most finished 
work. They are little things, but exquisitely done, showing 
the finish and skill which liave made him worthy to be trans- 
lated into all the modern languages of Europe and placed him 
very close to the head of American authors. 

Of him, a fellow writer at this time (Gilbert B. Densmore, 
now on the Bn lief in), says : 

" While I was writing up coluuiu after column, Bret Harte 
would be sitting looking at his desk. And finally, he would 
evolve a paragraph. But that paragraph was worth everything 
else in the paper. ' ' 

G. B. Densmoje himself is well remembered for his many 
stories, which appeared serially, in those columns, but he has 
since devoted his talents to editorial writing, and, occasionally, to 
dramatization. 

Here we find Charles Warren Stoddard learning to walk 
alone. He was only a boy, remember. 

" Tlie East is reil. 

The dark-pliimeil night has tied, 

M_v frightoiieil Muse, so tender, 
80 full of fear 
As day is near, 

Xo furtlier singing words of niglit will render."' 

Compare this with the magnificent poem in the Ctntinv of 
July. 1S83 : 

IN THE S1KKKA8. 

" (.hil of tlie hoat and toil and dust of trades, 
Far from the sound of cities and seas 
I journeytHl k>noly. and ak>no 1 sought 
The valley of the ages and the plaoo 
Of tlie wiud-hraided waters." 



THK COI.DKN JvRA SCHOOL 



21 



The last stanza is triumphant in its tone and full of strength 
and power : 

" Still we climb I 
The season and the summit passed alike, 
High on the glacial slopes we plant our feet. 
Heneath the great crags unsurmoiintable, , 

Care, like a burden, falling from our hearts ; 
Joy, like the wings of morning, Ki)lriting 
Our souls in ecstasy to outer worlds, 
Where the moon sails among the silver peaks 
On the four winds of heaven/' 



Here is the name of Joaquin Miller, one of the brightest in 
California literature since the old days. But there are very few 
lines in these tinkling little poems to tell the story of the 
mature genius which was to delight the world of letters in time to 

come. 

Also as a contributor to these pages appears the name of Rich- 
ard Henry Savage, who, since his experiences in the Egyptian 

army, has developed a talent for 
dramatic jwriting, which is not 
even suggested in this early time. 
Among the lesser names is that 
of Stephen Massett, who wrote 
under the title of "Col. Jeems 
Pipes of Pipesville. ' ' He utilized 
his verses and songs in the way 
of entertainment, and thus he 
became known personally to 
many of the early Californians 
as few of the writers of the Golden 
Era were known. 

There was a certain ease and 
charm of manner in the presen- 
tation of his ver.ses and .songs that 
gave him great popularity as a 
writer, and on his tours around the world he has achieved a cer- 
tain kind of reputation of which we at home have little knowledge. 




STKI'HKN .MASSKTT. 



f 

22 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

A song writer sometimes touches the heart with a bit of simple 
sentiment that according to the pKimb-line gauge of criticism 
falls far short of greatness. But there is always more demand 
for the bit of simple sentiment than for the mightier things of 
verse, and from this point of view he must be judged, although 
he has also written for Eastern journals several noteworthy 
poems, especially one, entitled, "The lyost Ship." A favorite 
song of Massett's is : 

MY DARLINfi's FACE. 

" Wlien day is done and night comes on 
And stars shine forth on land and sea, 
There comes an hour — the only hour — 
' More tlian all otliers dear to me ; 

The hour I wait thy coming, love ! 
For then iny darling's face I see ! 

" When night is o'er and bright tiie sun 
Sheds its soft beams, dear one, on thee. 
If by its light it leads me, love, 
To liear thy voice, so sweet to me, 
Tiiat is the hour — the only hour — 
For then ray darling's face I see ! " 



THH momEN OF THE "GOLtDEH E^A." 



The women who wrote for the old Golden Era were of varied 
degrees of talent. No one will gainsa}' that there was a grain 
of truth in what Editor Foard speaks of so gravely, that "the 
poor Era was killed by their school-girl essays." 

The Ada Clares, the Florence Fanes, the Occasia Owenses 
were not powerful writers, as is revealed by the columns they 
have left behind them in these tell-tale old files. But the first- 
tiamed, Ada Clare, was heralded in the largest of type as the 
*' Queen of Bohemia, " and the position she left in New York 
city was taken by the now famous " Willie Winter. " Her favor- 
ite expression was, "But, as usual, I am wandering from my 
subject, " which is not very inspiring to a reader. But the letters 
of Florence Fane were bright and readable, and since then, under 
lier own name of Francis Fuller Victor, she has done some of the 
strongest work in historical research yet attempted by any 
woman writer. Mrs. Victor has 
assisted materially in the com- 
piling of the magnificient Ban- 
croft Histories, which are known 
world-wide. She has al.so been 
connected with the Overland. 

It was at this time that Eliza 
Pittsinger reached the climax of 
her fame and wrote some very 
popular verses, though they are 
not to be found to-day in the 
libraries. 

There is in existence, how- 
ever, a small collection ot her poems, entitled "Bugle Peals." 
Of these lines Calvin B. McDonald says, happily : "When her 
muse came down from the sacred mount it was at the invocation 




ELIZA PITTSINGER. 



24 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

of serried battallious, not to smiling Cupid's beckoning from beds 
of roses. ' ' 

Eliza Pittsinger is a native of Massachusetts. She came to 
California in the early sixties, and, taking an active interest in 
the questions then agitating the public mind, wrote poems upon 
war themes and read them upon many public occasions. Her 
personality thus became known to the people of California, and 
her name remembered, though there is little of her work to be 
found in the libraries or the files of Californian journals or 
magazines. Her verse is cast mostly in the moral instructive 
form. Had she lived during the tribal times of mankind she 
would have been the one to raise the song of prophecy, of victory 
and death. But in these days of conforming to the convention- 
alities of civilization she is merely the poet of occasion, when 
California is celebrating some memorial day. A more extended 
sketch of Mrs. Pittsinger appears in the IVomefi of the Century. 
An extract is made from her poem entitled 

A DIVINE GUEST. 

Thought is speeding, time is waning, 

Let your banners be unfurled, 
Tyranny has long been gaining 

Hidden marches on the world — 
God is speaking through the nations, 

Trampling Error from its throne. 
Truth with migiity inspiration 

Thunders it from zone to zone; 
And the voice of tribulation, 

Justice crying for its own, 
Peals along the vast creation 

In a seething judgment tune. 

Here are to be found many little poems of the ill-fated 
Minnie Myrtle before she became Mrs. Miller in that strange 
romance of early times, before the "Poet of the Sierras" 
was known to the world. She was a woman of an odd sort of 
beauty — on the fantastic order — a splendid head of curlirg black 
hair, dark eyes and of rather imperious carriage. I remem- 
ber seeing her when she came to lecture in Sacramento, very 
youthful looking, alive to her finger-tips and oddly dressed, on a 



THE WOMEN OF THE GOLDEN ERA. 



25 




MINNIE MVRTLK. 



very warm day, in a white muslin dress, with a black fur tippet 
about her throat. Afterward, I read the pitiful letters she wrote 
to the Evenbip; Post when she became a part of the printing ma- 
chine and was ground down to earn her living and the support of 

her children by its means. 
And through it all rang an 
earnestness and a feeling that 
betokened the power to do 
something better if circum- 
stances had been more pro- 
pitious. Some seven or eight 
years ago, a beautiful tribute 
was paid to her memory by 
Joaquin Miller in a letter to 
the Chronicle^ and this was 
done by him merel)' as an act 
of justice, owing to one who 
aspired and desired, but fell 
asleep by the wayside with empty hands. 

Very remarkable is the story of Adah Isaacs Menken, the an- 
nouncement of whose position in literature at all will be a surprise 
to many. vShe shows here in 
these old files some bright sketch- 
es, and for one who has been 
known only as an actress of 
"Mazeppa," and a noticeable fig- 
ure in Paris during the time of the 
later Napoleon, the fact that since 
her death she has become famous 
for some of her verse will seem 
incredible. And yet it is power- 
ful and thrilling, and is cla.s.sed 
among the " Poetry of the 
Future." In the criticism of 
her lines it is said that there is 
more real poetry in them than in Walt Whitman's, counting page 
for page ; that her ear is truer and more delicate. But with a 
closer following of the principles of rhythm, she would have 




ADAH ISAACS iMF.NKKN. 



26 CAr.Il'OKNIAN WRITERS AND LITEKATURK. 

taken place among the brilliant writers and "left us something 
far better than these few frantic soul-cries of poetic aspiration, 
shrieked, as they were, out of the Darkness into the ear of 
Humanity and of God. " [From James Wood Davidson in " The 
Poetry of the Future. " Alden, publisher.] 

KXTRACT FROM "HKMI-OCK IN THE FURROWS." 

O weak Soul ! let us follow the heavy liearse that bore our old Dream out past 
the wliite-horued Daylight of Love. 

I^et thy }iale Dead come up from their furrows of winding-sheets to mock thy 
[irayerswith what thy days might have been. 

Let the Living come back and point at tlie shadows they swept o'er the disk of 
thy morning v'^tar. 

Go back and grapple with thy lost angels, that stand in terrible judgment 
against thee. 

Seek thou the bloodless skeleton once hugged to thy depths. 

Hath it grown warmer under thy passionate kissings? 

Or hath it closed its seeming wings and shrunk its white body down to a glis- 
tening coil ? 

Didst thou wait the growth of fangs to point the arrows of Love's latest peril? 

Didst thou not see a black, hungry vulture wheeling down low to the white- 
bellied coil where thy Heaven had once bxsed itself? 

O blind Soul of Thine ! 

Blind, blind with tears! 

Not for thee shall Love climb the Heaven of thy columned hopes to Eternity. 

— Adah Isaacs Menken. 

Owing to the pectiliar method in which her little poems were 
•produced, the name of Sallie Goodrich calls up some funny mem- 
ories. Old residents will remember instances at the State Fair in 
Sacramento in the earl 3' sixties — a sudden commotion, a voice 
pleading for pencil and paper, and while she was in her poetic 
frenzy the people would crowd around while she evolved the idea 
from her brain. Strange to say, in the columns of the Golden 
Era they sound very much like all the other little poems, with 
no particular hint of their tumultuous suddenness. 

May Wentworth afterward became an author, as is evinced in 
the two pretty volumes, " Fairy Tales from Gold Lands, " which 
were verj' popular in '68 and '69, and will be reviewed later 
among those who have published their work in book form. 

The only woman of these early writers to acquire popular 
celebrity and a fame that shows no signs of diminishing with 



TINC WOMIvN Ol" Till': COI.Dl'.N I'.KA. 



27 



tlie yc.'irs, is Ina I). Coolhiitli, and no one- has yet appc-arcd among 
Califoniian women to wrest the laurels from lier or to share them, 
even. In tliis early time her verses are thoughtful and fin 
ished, which makes them stand out like cameos among the shells 
in the sand. Her sketch will follow in the " Ovrrhtiid School, " 
willi which she is more closely identified. 

When in her extreme youth, Anna Morrison c(>ntril)Uted to 
these columns many poems which were afterward ])ul)lished in 
book form. One <jf the.se is entitled 

AKTKK HUNSK'I'. 

SoCily fjills Upon the IiIIIh 

'J'lie s:il)l(i wliadt! of (ivtininj^'s wing, 
Anil die hriglit star in the wchI, 

I'rovfH tlie niglil i« (^iohing in. 

Ah tiie Jitnl)er of \\w clondH 

(yJiangeH into Hilv(!r-grey, 
So tlie liglit of every life, 

KadeH at laHt from eartli away. 

Among all the names .and peculiar individualities there is one 
which stands out distinctls' from the rest, and that is a rare 

woman who signs herself 
" Hagar. " She must have 
been about twenty-two, self- 
possessed, with a calm eye 
but i)assionate nature. What 
she wrote was strong and 
vigorous, and .soon aroused 
a tempest among the male 
writers, who wrote replies of 
various kinds — impertinent, 
spiteful, and but one of them 
manly. 'I' h c t h e m e of 
" K(|uality for Woman" was 
beginning to rise upon the 
Eastern horizon, and "Hagar" 
drew ihe lance for, and these 
various men against, the .social ])roblem just then faintly being 
heard. And in her ^\\\(i Ivnglish she gives utterance to this 




HAC.AK. 



28 CAl.U'OKNMAN WKITKKS AN'O l.rn:K A Pl'K K. 

sentence, worthy of preseiwUioii ; "The chains lh.it hoM woiiuiu 
iti hoiulage arc the lorce, the strength, the power of will in man." 

The impertinent and spiteful replies are beneath notice, but 
the manly one contains this brilliant bit of imagery : " Hehind the 
smooth palaver of ambassadors, and the calm reasoning oj" min- 
isters, the xr<'(w/ has ever ilimly glistened. " These two sen- 
tences contain the gist of all tlie aignnienls tor and against 
the position oi' woman in competing with man by means o[' 
the ballot ; in other words, " brute toree rules aiul always will 
rule. '■ 

The one woman who has a pen anil a brain in this good old 
time is treated so discourteously by the men weaklings of the 
hour that she makes a dignified farewell ami is heard no more. 
The CiM<f/ Era deserved to be killed by the etTusive scribblers 
who were left. If it had realized the truth it would have shut its 
cohunns to the rest and given " llagar " full sway. W'e should, 
then, possibly, have developed a woman writer who would have 
achieved in prose a position equal to that of Miss Coolbrith in 
verse. Whether her position regarding "Woman Suffrage" 
was or is tenable is a small matter. She had power and strength 
and was full of native tire, as is evinced in these sketches, which 
had a tineness and local coUn- not unlike Bret Harte's own in their 
portrayal ot the hour. 

In studying over these great, heavy tomes, some six or seven 
years ago. 1 found an inspiration in her very name, and felt a 
longing to see her in the flesh. Passing over in the ferry-boat, 
going through the street, I tound myself wondering if any of 
these faces could belong to " Hagar. ' One day, sitting upon 
an old log, with a lady friend, in the delightful shade of Mill \a\- 
ley, surrounded by the redwoods, the theme of old Californian 
days came creeping into our conversation. Suddenly I spoke 
of "llagar" and my desire to know her, and saw a wonderful 
light in the eye of my friend. She was a near relation, and I have 
since had the pleasure of meeting " Hagar, " and lifting the veil 
tVom her no>n (fc' plunw. 

Janette H. Phelps was born in Steuben County, New York, 
but came to California when quite young. She early displayed a 
facility with the pen, and wrote not only for the Golden Era, but 



Till', WOMI'.N OI" rilE C.Ol.Di-.S l',KA. 29 

also for the y1//a, the Ca//, the vSacranicnto f/n/ou and the Ca/i- 
f()rnia7i Magazine, taking more to journalism than fiction, Upon 
her marriage to Mr. J. I'. Purvis, now the vSheriff of Modesto, she 
retired from literary work, but her natural activity of brain would 
not allow her to be altogether idle. vShe has since interested her- 
self in tli<- pracljf ,'ij (|uestions of the day, prepared lectures and 
delivered them, and liclj)ed to frame and pass bills before the TyCgis- 
lature for the protection of the young against narcotics. vShe has 
also become actively connected with the Woman's Christian Tem- 
perance Union, and is now serving as delegate to the convention in 
Boston. 

An active, useful life is not conducive to literary production, 
otherwise " Hagar " might have made her mark in the present 
day as one of the Californian writers, instead of being only a 
strong shadow of the past in the old fdes of the (iolden Era. 

Very different is the story of another who began her literary 
work in this old journal— Mrs. Mary Watson, who, as journalist 
and correspondent, has written for nearly all our vSan F'ranci.sco 
<laily i)a])ers during the past twenty years. vShe has devoted her- 
self to the kind of writing that has been most profitable, and there- 
fore has but few paragraphs to show as worthy of being cherished. 
I"'or it is one of the curious things of life, and one of the grimmest 
things in writing, to discover the fact that it is only the written 
material which is of the least value to the daily press, and the 
daily maw of the public, that is worthy of preservation. From 
the profitable point of view, therefore, Mrs. Watson's work has to 
be judged. She has built two hou.ses and has gone five times to 
Ivurope on the proceeds of her pen. 

She was the wife of Judge John V. Watson, and was bom in 
Ottawa, 111., and has published a tiny volume of pleasant narra- 
tive on " l'e()]>le I Have Met, " including illustrations of many — 
" (ieorges Sand," Anihony 'iVollope, Miss Braddon, Lady Duffus 
Hardy, Oscar Wilde, and others. 

Alice Kingsbury's name appears in these early days — an odd 
study of a tiny woman brimful of tireless energy. At first 
a bright soubrette the darling of Ihe public, she retired to 
domestic life, and, amid her babies, nujdeled dainty shapes in 
clay, which were put into plaster and much admired, as " Cupid 



30 



CALIKORNIAN \VR1TKKS AND I.ITKRATURK. 



at Play" aiul the "Sleeping Baechus. " She \vas a restless 
soul, and her mind had to find some outlet for its repressed 
energy, so she wrote and published a number of books, all bright, 



clever, and entertaining. 




ALICK KINr.^>lUKY. 



Ho ! for Elfland " sold two thousand 
copies in San I'Yancisco, and 
"Secrets Told" was the dain- 
tiest kind of sarcasm on social 
c[uesti(>ns. Where other women 
pour acpia fortis, she sprinkled 
rose water. Her last novel, just 
published, "Asaph," will be 
reviewed among the novels. 

"Riding Hood" appeared in 
the iiolden Era, but as she was 
more identified with the Sacra- 
mento ihiion, she will come 
unilcr tliat division. Miss Lulu 
Littleton of Sacramento, daugh- 
ter of the late Captain Littleton, 
was a contributor in the seventies, 
and wrote afterward for the San Franciscan. 

\'ery early there was a writer who showed great promise, and 
who has since fulfilled many of these expectations, although not 
well known to the later public. This is Mrs. Anna M. Fitch, 
the wife of Thomas Fitch, the well-known orator. She was the 
editor, wheu but a young" girl, of the Ilcspcn'an, and since has 
written the first novel publi.shed by a Californian woman — 
" Bound Down, " a remarkable book, considering that it preceded 
all our present knowledge of theosophy. She has since collab- 
orated with Mr. Fitch upon another work, which will be sub- 
jected to comparison with other Californian novels under the 
head of " Fiction. " 

Alter leaving the Golden Era, J. ALicdonough Foard estab- 
lished the Sunday Mercury, which journal is specially remem- 
bered for the bright letters of a young woman writer, who signed 
herself ' ' Topsy Turvy . ' " Some one wrote for her picture, to which 
she responded " I send you the enclosed. If you are not satisfied, 
von will have to (\mtinue to see me through the Sunday Mercury.'' 



THE WOMEN OF THE GOLDEN ERA. 



31 



This faded photograph was one of the precious little 
souvenirs of J. Macdonough Foaid, found among his effects since 
his death. 

In tracing up this bright little woman, who made such an 
impression upon the hearts of the public in the early sixties, I 
have stumbled upon a very 
pathetic stor^^ of one of the 
first Californian women who 
attempted to live by jour- 
nalism. To my surprise I 
find that ' ' Topsy Turvy ' ' 
of the Sunday Mercury and 
"Carrie Carlton" of the 
Golden Era, and author of 
several books, are one and 
the same writer. She was 
a pretty, black-eyed woman, 
sweet and confiding, full of 
good humor and lightest 
gayety of spirits, and clever 
with the pen. Her hus- 
band having died, leaving 
her with three children to 
support, she was neces- 
sarily forced to yoke her talents together to draAv her in her 
humble cart along the rough way. The five dollars a week she 
received from the Mercury barely sufficed to stand between her 
and extreme want ; but when extra writing came in to add to 
the amount she forgot the necessaries of life and indulged in the 
luxuries. Other kinds of employment she sought, but at writing 
only was she a success, as she lacked the business instinct. The 
quality of her writing was similar lo that of Minnie Myrtle Mil- 
ler and Alice Kingsbury, rather saucy, piquant and "cute," if 
the term be permitted. 

Personally Carrie Carlton always made friends, as she was 
possessed of a lovable, grateful disposition. Kven a glass of ice 
cream, sent to her by a lady friend, is recorded in her book by a 
graceful little verse in return. Her "Wayside Flowers" is a 




TUPSV TURVY. 



32 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

collection of promising verse, issued in 1862. " Under the Mist " 
is quaint in its thought, and would soon pass into a by-word if 
written to-day. 

'Twas strange that cliildhood could cheat me so, 
But I was under the mist, you know. 

Another volume is "Inglenook," a bright story of early 
Californian life for children. " The Letter Writer " is a humor- 
ous view of the situation — applying the old-fashioned book of the 
name to the needs of Californian correspondence, such as a 
daughter addresing her mother as "Honored Madam," or a 
miner writing East for goods in the same stately manner. It is 
written in crisp, unconventional st57le, with clever little bits of 
advice here and there. " You should always write to your grand- 
father," is one of the axioms of the " Letter Writer." 

This was her last work. Her many privations were finally 
too much tor her delicate constitution, and in 1868 she succumbed. 
Friends laid her away tenderly, and remembering the brightness 
of her mind amid all her trials, they erected a stone to her 
memory in the Masonic Cemetery of San Francisco, and placed 
upon it this inscription : 

"TOPSY TURVY." 

MAY 1, 1868. 

CALLED HO.ME. 

Aged 32 years. 

For it was under this name that she had become known to 
the public and had awakened their affection in those bright letters 
to the Sunday Mercury. As Elizabeth Chamberlain or Mrs. 
Washington Wright she was unknown utterly. Even her friends 
called her " Topsy " or "Carrie." Her own name signified 
nothing. Her nom de plume called up a smile of interest. Her 
daughter, now in Northern California, inherited something of 
"Carrie Carleton's " facility with the pen, but her talents are 
absorbed in the smaller circle of the home. She has preserved 
her mother's scattered poems and writings, and possibly among 
them are some which are now floating through the press without 
a name or a claim. 



THE WOMEN OF THE GOLDEN ERA. 33 

In concluding the record of the old Golden Era School, it is 
perhaps as well to state here that the complete file of the old jour- 
nal is no longer in existence. Since the day spent by the writer, 
some seven or eight years ago, in pouring over the dusty tomes, 
and dwelling over those old names, the columns have been rid- 
dled and scissored mercilessly. The heart of the volumes has 
been cut out piecemeal, and only the wretched skeleton is left. 
A new paper was to have been started with these clippings 
from the past. Macdonough Foard and Rollin P. Daggett were 
to have been the editors in this later day — but it came to naught, 
and the old files were despoiled in vain. 

Mention must here be made of the passing away, Jan. 15th, 
1892, of J. Macdonough Foard, the original editor and owner, 
with Rollin P. Daggett, of the old Golden Era, the first literary 
paper on the coast. In a late sketch of him in The Wasp, he was 
spoken of as being in the seventies, and though lying upon his 
death-bed and awaiting the '' flap of the raven's funereal wing, " 
as he himself expressed it, he wrote a bright little note resenting 
the mistake and announcing that " he was not the Methuselah 
of the coast. " He felt mentally, as young as when he fought 
with the Sheriff to keep the Golden Era on its feet, in his twenty- 
first year, back in 1850, living over again the triumphs and pleas- 
ures of those stirring days. As an earnest of regret for the error 
in making him over sixty- three, a bouquet of flowers was sent 
him, and, in return, he accorded his forgiveness. Now he has 
laid aside the habiliments of earth, and free and young once 
more, sought another existence upon some other star. Whatever 
his age upon this sphere, his spirit was never more than twenty- 
one. 



1^(l^^ JJioln^er jnagaxine 



EDITOR: 

Fcrdiiuind Iur,r. 

COf«lTRlBUTORS: 

Eduwd A. Pollock; John Phoatix (Col. Geonn' Ihrb}/), Stephai Afamtt, J. P. 
Anthoiiii, John Suxlt. Frank Soult; John S. Hittell, Mrs S. A. Douner, and othorti. 

The earliest Calitoniian ningaziue was 77/<- Piontc'r, which 
was issued during the year of 1S54, and made one fine volume. 
It was edited and managed by Ferdinand Ewer, a man of consid- 
erable power in those days, ami a central figure in the literature 
o{ that time. 

r'or this monthly. Pollock, Pluvnix and others wrote the 
contents, including poems by John Swett ^now Superintendent of 
Schools in San Krancisco\ Stephen Massett, J. P. Anthony (after- 
ward of the Sacramento C/fi/ofi), Frank Soule, and prose articles 
by Mrs. S. A. Douner, J. S. Hittell and unknown writers who 
took refuge in initials. 

But the chief features of the P/o/itrr are " Thoughts Toward 
a New Epic," by ICdward Pollock — a magnificent essay, worthy 
of notice to-day — and a strange phantasy by Ferdinand Ewer 
himself, entitled, " The l\\"entful Nights of August 20th and 21st" 
—being a peep into the mystery of what befalls after death. 

This phantasy is celebrated as having attracted the attention 
ot the ICast at the time, and having made a great stir among 
spiritualistic circles, the members of which arose t/i //lasse and 
welcomed Mr. Ewer to their ranks. Then he came forward and 
quietly responded that he had no tacts to base the story upon — 
that it all arose in his own brain. 



Tin'. i*ionj':i';k maoazinjc. 



^'=> 



This may be considered the first of tliose wonfler-stories, 
wliicli seem to spring into growtli so naturally in our climate, and 
which formed, afterward, the fields chosen by W. H. II. Khodes 
(Caxtonj, in wliich to make himself famous and to-day is re])re- 
sented by their prototypes, Robert Dtuican Milne, Ambrose liierce 
and William C. Morrow, who ])resent the choicest flowering of 
tlie literary orchid. 

Mr. Ivwer afterward became an Ivpiscopal clergyman and 
returned Ivist, but his volume of the / 'ioneer st'\U remains on the 
book-shelves of the libraries to charm and delight the seeker for 
glimpses into the lieart of the.se misty days. 

In view of the criticism so often made of the lack of local 
coloring in our early literature, the following jjoem from its pages 
is (juoted, written evidently by Pollock, showing that these 
writers brought their skies and plants and hills and customs with 
them, and were deaf and dund) and blind to California's charms, 
for the very good reason that their hearts and minds still remained 
in the cold, cold ICast, though their ])]iysical bodies were in the 
land of the west. 



LINKS II V K. A. r, 

WItlTTK.S I.V TIIK Tltol'ICH IlllHl.sa A Vi ' Y AOK TOCA IJ KOI'.NI A . 

The oloiidH are darkenirig Norllierii Hkies, 

Yet tliCHC are all Hereuc, 
'JMu; HnowH in Northern vall(!yK lies, 

Wliil<; trojiic s1ioi(;h are green. 
J5ut radiance tiiitH those lar-od'hiilK, 

No Hurnrner can heatow, 
For there tlie liglit of rnemory dwellH 

On all we love heiovv. 
I watch yon point of BteadlaHl liglit 

Declining in the 8ea, 
Yon pf)lar star, that night hy night, 

Ih iooi<ing, love, on thee. 
"Oh, give irie. Heaven," 1 constant sigh 

" For all this (lowery zone, 
A colder clitiie, a darker sky 

And her I love — alone," 



36 



CA1,U\)KNI.\N WKiriCKS ANU l.mCK A TUK IC. 




1>1;K1MN A> n 



It has been s;iid, lately, of i.vrl;iin authors, how tlilTerently 
they write from thowa> tlK\ talk ami act ; otic is in tUnihl as to 
which is the ical man ov wcunan. 

l"'ci\liiian(l e'.iilw I i>;hl ICwcr is a case in innnt. His cclchratcil 

story, " The h'vcntt'ul Nii;hts of 
Aui^ust Jist and jjil," so singu- 
laily tree iVotn the ordinary ma- 
Iciialism i^t" such tales, is the 
ic\ CISC ot' the manner ot" the man 
as exemplilieil in his chosen 
course in life. For material em- 
Mcms, s\ n\hols atul sii;ns au- 
^^^ I'xalted with strani;c sii^tiiticancc 

\ • ' ^ '^<^,:Ati!.',<iri^^^^!ss when he leaves the editor's ilesk 

lor the minister's pulpit. 

In all the history ot' Calitor- 
nian literature, there is not a 
more stiikiiii; personality than 
that ot' l'\Mt.linand C. Ivwer, au- 
thor, editor. Clitic and priest. There was something about the 
m.in lh.it provoked the attention ot his tcUows, wh.ite\cr jiosition 
he occupied in lite. In tracins; up his record as tonnder ot' that 
splendid volume ot' pottraituie ot" early Californian literature, 
known as '/V/f- /''i\uu<r .Uijj^tic/nt-, his personalit\ stands out .so 
\ i\ id that the incomplete sketch o[' a tew paragraphs uuist be 
supplemented by further particulars, in order to (\o justice to a 
figure which approached the si/e ot" greatness. 

Koiii o[ I'nit ui.in (Quaker paieuts, on the Island ot' Nantucket, 
in K'^j(\ he w.is naturallv emlowed with an American cast of 
mind. lUit, by some peculiar woiking of his meiUal forces, he 
passed t'rom stage to stage oi belief anil unbelief, in each of which 
he was absolutely siticere and straightforward. In his youth he 
passed t'rom the Tnit-irian pulpit to the l^iisoopalian religion, and 
then into atheism, and then back to the Trinitarian, again to the 
extreme of Ritualism. 

After graduating at llar\ard with the class of 1S4S, became 
to Calitornia, and at once became identified with jouriuilism. He 
founded the /\i<ini Xrus, the ■5////</<n' Dispahh, iXxc Pionttr Moi^- 



azine in 1854, and ailcrward with ImIcIi hiow of llie Call ) the 
vSacramento Transcript. Duriiij^ lliis lime, in liis criUcisins, he 
UKule much of JCdwiii HooUi, who was tlien in his youlli, ijn)])lie- 
syin}^ a brilliant (career for him in tlie rutiiie, which encourage- 
ment was never (brgolten, as, after liwer's death, Booth gave $2,000 
toward the fund raised for his family. 

Hut niorc esi)ecially is remembered '"riie Ivventful Niglits " 
story, whi(-li ;i])|)cared in the Pioneer, and was talked (jf (or years, 
and is slill, as a i^raiid lioa.v laic. The sul)stance of the story is 
as follows : 

Being summoned to a house on Lirkin street to take tli-i 
statement of a dying man, J. !•*. I/uie by n;ime, h^wer responds. 
The dying man tells him how he can be magnetized after <leath so 
as to have his dead hand move the hand of Ivwer and write down 
his sensations and reveal the mystery of what happens after death. 
The instructions are carried out and a wonderful account is given 
in which is revealed the fact of there being an intermediate state 
in which the spirit exists. And, according as the si)irit is devel- 
oped in the higher ])erceptions, thus is determined the lengtli of 
its stay in this intermediate state. 

The dead hand of I,ane thus writes a full acount of this 
condition or state, and then ])ronf)unces that he, himself, will soon 
die in that .state and pass beyond where he can never return to 
communicate with earth, because it is only in that crude and 
unformed condition or state that such communication is jxissible. 

It is a wonderful piece of imagery, and based upon the highest 
S])iritual perception of feeling — so totally different from the ordi- 
nary conception of the future existence of even the spiritualists of 
to-day, that there is not a trace of material taint in it from ))e- 
ginning to end. It conceives ot and represents a world or state 
in which there is nothing material or of the texture of earth, and 
for that one point especially must be recognized as having a 
certain degree of literary excellence as a story. 

So vividly and remarkably was this presented that at once it 
became the .sensation of the hour, and letters were received from 
all quarters from the spiritualists who, nothing suspecting, ac- 
cepted it as genuine. Judge Edmonds of New York, the ablest 



^ CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

and most sincere of the leaders of the new belief just then coming' 
into vogue, fell into the snare and welcomed Ewer to their ranks. 
And when Ewer disclaimed that it was anything more or less than 
a story made up from his own inner consciousness, Edmonds 
brought forward a statement, certified to by a certain medium, 
that it had issued from the spirit of the identical John F. Lane 
himselt. This, in substance, was to the effect that he, the spirit 
of Lane, had impressed Ewer to write the story, the writer being 
an unconscious medium. This Ewer again denied with all the 
satire of which he was capable, saying that he had made correc- 
tions and alterations the same as with any of his other literary 
productions, and read it to friends ten days before the date men- 
tioned. 

It is a part of the histor}' of the case that there was found a 
John F. Lane, a Colonel in the United States Army, who had 
actually existed and died some time previous, and, also, that after 
Ewer had disclaimed utterly any foundation for the tale, and 
thereby had placed Edmonds in an absurd position, it is said that 
the mortification of the circumstance so preyed upon his mind 
that the death of Judge Edmonds was hastened by means of it. 

Ewer was married to a Miss Sophia Congdon, sister of Charles 
T. Congdon, the veteran journalist, and had a family of two sons 
and daughters. He is also a cousin of Warren B. Ewer of the 
J^iira/ F?-ess of San Francisco. An effort was made to name a 
street of our city after him in the location of between Mason, 
Taylor, Sacramento and Clay, which is abput all the honor that 
remains here for posterity to ponder over. 

It was in his early literary days that he was severelj^ an 
atheist, and descanted earnestly, boldly and convincingly, both in 
public and private, upon matters of belief as contrary to the prin- 
ciples of science and reason. In a few years, however, he saw 
things differently, and applied himself so fervently to studies of 
Episcopalianism that in 1S57 he was ordained and became assist- 
ant to Bishop Kip. Upon the resignation of the Bishop he was 
elected and ordained priest. Under his leadership the congrega- 
tion became very enthusiastic and built the present Grace Church 
on California and Stockton streets, and he was given leave of 
absence for a year. While in New York, he accepted a call to the 



THE PK^NEKR MAGAZINE. 39 

rectorship of Christ Church, with, at one time, a salary of twelve 
thousand a year. 

And here comes in the singular quality of the man. He 
introduced the highest of High Church ceremonials, till he in- 
fringed upon the rites of the Roman Catholic system of worship, 
and, as before, still provoked comment and notice from the secular 
as well as the church press. 

On a trip to Europe during the Franco- Prussian excitement 
in 1870, while in Paris, he was arrested as a spy and thrown into 
prison for two days, until the American Minister came to his 
relief. His tendency to sketch had aroused suspicions that he 
was making plans of the French fortifications for Prussian use. 

Ritualism still occupied the attention of Dr. Ewer upon his 
return, and he wrote much upon the subject, and at the same time 
introduced the most complicated forms of worship in his church. 
The baptism of a child was performed with lighted candles, 
changing of the purple for the white stole and back again, disrob- 
ing the child and immersing it three times and marching in pro- 
cession with it to the altar and into the vestry-room. 

His series of eight sermons upon ' ' Protestantism a Failure ' ' 
aroused great feeling, stirring up the press and the people East 
and West. In his argument he .separates the Epi.scopal Church 
from either Romanism or Protestantism, and argues that the 
Episcopal Church has always shown the greatest liberality and 
the least intolerance and persecution towards science and the 
scientists. 

In his .sermons on " Ritualism," speaking of the vSeven Sac- 
raments and the Sacrament of Penance, he aroused such bitter 
opposition that he was in danger of a trial. But by an open letter 
he was enabled to .set himself right before the American church. 

A strong adherent says in a church paper : 

He lias removed from all honest minds the feeling tliat caused them to look 
upon liim with suspicion. There is no doubt that liis ministerial life has been 
one of misunderstanding and misrepresentation. 

But the fact remains that a certain amount of opposition still 
continued in Christ Church, and so, with his adherents, he with- 
drew and established vSt. Ignatius. Columbia College conferred 
the degree S. T. D upon him in 1867. 



40 CAl.ir'ORNIAN WUITICKS AND I.IT IvK ATITKE. 

When delivering a sermon in Montreal, Canada, in KSS5, he 
snddenly sank in his pnlpit and soon after died, aged 59 years. 
His funeral in New York City, as described, reads like a mediaeval 
ceremonial. Nearly one hundred Kpiscopal divines were present 
in their snrplicjs, besides many clergymen of other faiths, as well 
as the Grand Lodge of Ma.sons and members of churches — hun- 
dreds of whom were turned away and lingered outside for lack of 
room, though it was a gloomy day, dark and rainy. 

The interior of the church, however, was like a Roman 
Catheilral upon celebration tlay. The ;dtar was a l)laze of light 
from glittering candelal)ra ; the casket, covered 'with violet vel- 
vet, bore lighted candles of great height ; the altar and pulpit 
were heavily draped in black, and the body adorned with all the 
eucharistic vestments — chalice and paten and a crucifix, as well as 
the medal of the Convocation of the Blessed Sacrament, resting 
upon his breast. 

Which was the real man ? 

Let an extract from his sermon upon the subject ot " Poliiics 
in tlie Tulpii " speak eloquently for the simplicity, earnestness 
and fearlessness of the mental man, Ferdinaiul Ivwer, during the 
time of the late War of the Rebellion : 

Ah, beloved, passion is now sweepinj;; tlie world away. I might indeed 
stand here, as you iiave desired, and, as a mere man, tell you the passionate 
yearnings of my heart at tiiis iiour; liow anxiously 1 look to Pennsylvania, how 
I tremble as 1 consider wliat may be tiie eonsecpienees of men's aets who ditler 
tVoin me; but then, dear bretliren, this elunvh would lie rolling heavily, too, in 
tlie trough of the general sea. 

Consider it as a preeedent establishing tlu- principle of politii'al preaehing 
in this pulpit. Seek to establish no dangerous rule. Oh, seek not to surrender 
to your priests the two-edged sword whieh is of right your own heritage. 1 warn 
YOU. Preserve as a jirieeless jewel your jiolitieal indopendenee of the ohureh. 
* * * Who more than the ehureh has called in that formidable auxiliary, 
the State, against those whom it counted her enemies? J warn you. 

Go not about to drug iter with tiie pi)litical wine that shall intoxicate her 
and unfit her for her calm and delicate work. As citizeas we are all equal — you 
and 1. And when on tiiat platform of citizenship any one of us — you or 1 — mount 
the rostrum, the equality between speaker and audience is not broken, for any 
one can answer. 15ut here the case is dillerent. 

When 1 Mumut this pulpit theetiuality is gone: our relative positions are 
in hirmony with the fact. 1 speak as priest — you merely sit to listen and can 



'I'll I', I'loNi'ivk ma(;a/,inj':. 



4' 



iiirtke IK) iiiiHwer. I lioild yoii jill Jil ;i (liH.'i(lv;iiitii^c. And ri^jlitly ho, for' my 
iioriiial condition is !i,s a jirit'Hl to (leclan; to yon tlie <!l<'rn;il Word or(;o(l, to 
wliii'li tlioro can l)c no answer. 

If I iiH(! tliiH vantnge stand for anglit other i)iirii()Ht', I ;irn i('<reant to yon 
and to your ri/^litH. Tlicrc Ih a bhwitlicinoiiH impertinence in tlic jtricHt either 
<lictating in prayer to God the will of liiw people, or, on the other hand, in hln 
i^Miorance, HuhHtltntinf!; IiIh own crude, j)olitical notioim for the K^ffit, hidden 
(iirfecl will of < iloil, and then di(!tatin)( them aH though from <iod to his p(!0|)lc 
IL is a lii^h crime upon the sacred politiciil freedom of the |icopl<! ;iiid ;i d;irinf( 
inKuil to (jiod himself. 




HUTCHIWI^^' lLLU^Tl(flTED (Ji\LlF01(WIi\ MAGAZINE 



1858. 



Sketch of J. Cn. Hatchings. 

Very closely connected with the history ot Californian litera- 
ture, and also with the history of the discovery of Yo Semite, 
which he made known to the outside world through the medium 
of his magazine, is the name of James Hutchings. 

Of the many writers of the past who gave promise of great 
things in these early days, those whom whisky spared were 
mostly carried off by mountain fever or disappointed hopes — leav- 
ing but an incomplete record of the names, which, seen as from a 
passing ship, flickered like lights on the dark seashore a few 
moments and then were extinguished. But amid all vicissitudes 
and all variations of pioneer life, Mr. Hutchings has continued a 
prominent figure before the public these many years, and has so 
identified himself, both personally and in writing, with the 
locality of California's greatest marvel — and the greatest marvel 
of the world — Yo Semite — that he cannot be forgotten. 

No visitor to that realm of nature's cathedral-architecture 
can forget the scene daily spread in the early morning. There, 
amid the glories of seeing the sun rise forty separate times on the 
glassy surface of Mirror Lake and watching the shadows lift on 
South Dome, is the picture of a grey-haired minstrel, as it were, 
surrounded by a throng of eager listeners from all parts of the 
earth, begging for story after story of reminiscence of Yo Semite. 

And never is he so at home as when portraying the sorrowful 
but romantic tale of Therese Yelverton, Countess of Avonmore 
(who also is connected with our Californian literature and has 
become a sort of heroine of the valley), telling of her five or six 
months' stay within these mighty walls, and of the way she 



HUTCHINS II.I.USTRA.TED CALIFORNIA MAGAZINE. 



43 



charmed the tourist, who remained simply to enjoy her fascinating 
company, telling of her encounter with the bear and many other 
thrilling tales. 

The guides and habitues of the valley affect to ignore these 
pretty stories, but the tourist can never be satisfied, and it is safe 
to say that I^atter-Day-Minstrel Hutchings has had more to do 

with awakening a proper respect 
for the valley, and imparting a 
desire to behold it, than any 
other one man who has lived. 
From the day he first entered 
the cathedral-like walls of Yo 
Semite and proclaimed its dis- 
covery in the little Mariposa 
paper, and then founded a mag- 
azine for the purpose of further 
making known its glories, until 
the present, when he has writ- 
ten book after book and tourist 
guides and various kinds of 
deification and apostrophe, and 
delivered illustrated lecture 
after lecture all over the coun- 
try, he has never wavered in 
his faithfulness to his first love. 
With him it has always been 
Yo Semite first, last and all the time. 

He is hale and hearty to-day — though silver-haired — and can 
outwalk any ordinary young man up those wonderful trails, and 
his mind and memory never fail in his thousand and one tales 
and quaint quotations and quips and turns which flow from his 
lips as naturally as the streams from Yo Semite itself. His little 
log cabin, where he spent his early years — the first inhabitant — 
and reared his family, and lost his wife, still stands, a historic 
relic, and is occupied by himself during the summer months. 

Born in Towcester, nine miles from the center of England » 
in 1824, Mr. Hutchings came to America at the age of 16, and in 
1849 to California. He made and lost several fortunes in the 




J. M. HUTCHINGS. 



44 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

fever ot gold mining, and one day accidentally took the step that 
led him back lo journalism, which was his original profession. 
In the effort to introduce the peaceful Sabbath of the Eastern 
cities, Mr. Hutchins wrote a pungent little tract suited to die 
times, called "The Miner's Ten Commandments." The demand 
suddenl}' became so great that they were published again and 
again, until, strange as it may seem, no less than 97,000 of these 
letter-sheets were sold in a little over one year, and that, too, 
when the entire population of the State was less than five times 
that number. An abbreviated extract is given : 

THE MINEK's ten COMMANDMENTS. 
1. 

Tlioii slialt have no other claim than me. 

n. 
Tlion shalt not make unto tlivself a false rlaim, nor any likeness unto a 
mean man by jumping; one. 

III. 
Thou shalt not go prospecting before thy claim nnis out. Neitlier shalt 
thou take thy money, nor thy gold-dust, nor thy good name to the gambling-table 
in vain. 

IV. 

Thou shalt not remember what thy friends do at home on the Sabbath 
day, lest the remembrance should not com})are favorably with what thou doest 
here; for well thou knowest that on that day thou washest thy dirty clothes, 
darnest all thy stockings, jtatchest up thy nether garments, dost tap thy bnots) 
cho}) thy whole week's iirewood, make. up aud bake thy bread and boil thy pork 
and beans, that thou wait not when at night thou returnest from thy labors 
weary, (v, vi, vii, viii, ix.) 

X. 

Thou shalt not counnit unsuitable matrimony, nor covet suigle blessedness, 
nor forget absent maidens, nor neglect thy iirst love, knowing liow patiently and 
faitlifuliy, aye, longingly, she watchingly awaiteth thy return, yea, and covereth 
every epistle that thou sendeth her with kisses until she hath thyself again. 

The new conuuandment I give unto you. If thou hnst a wife and little 
ones that thou lovest dearer than thy own life, thou shalt keep them constantly 
before thee to nerve and prompt thee to every noble eflort until thou canst say, 
"Thank God, 1 now have enovigh." Then, as thou jjurneyest toward thy 'Duch 
loved liome and precious ones, ere thou hast crossed the blessed threshold they 
shall welcome thee with kisses, and, falling upon thy neck, weep tears of unutter- 
able joy that thou hast come. So mote if be. 



IIUTCHINS' II.LUSTRATKD CAIJFORNIA MAGAZINE. 45 

From this beginning Mr. Hutchins went into literature — 
founding his magazine, which continued until 1861, when lie 
retired with shattered health to Yo Semite and there built and 
carried on the first hotel, now known as Barnard's. Afterward, 
when Congress donated the valley to the State of California with- 
out making provision for the settlers who had located there, the 
vState gave him a compensation of $24,000 ; but as he had already 
expended over $41,000 and nearly twelve years of his life, it was 
not so great a compensation as it might seem. In 1880 he was 
made guardian of the valley. But the crowning effort of Mr. 
Hutchings' life is the well-known work, "The Heart of the 
Sierras," which is a story with many touches of deep feeling and 
intense human interest, simply but fervently told. It contains a 
complete and historical summary of the great valley of the Yo 
Semite and its marvelous surroundings. 

In speaking of literature in California, Mr. Hutchings says 
that the singular difficulty in all his efforts to get writers for his 
early magazine was that they would not write with local coloring 
— everything was of the East and nothing of California, a 
peculiarity which prevails even to-day. 




EARliY POETS. 

1858-1870 

Edirard Polloch, Joint liolliii Ridiji', Jaiiicn Linen. 

Poetry nearly always means glorified starvation for some one. 
And, bitter as is that discovery for the unfortunate poet of to-day, 
let it not be forgotten that the poet of yesterday found that the 
early days of California literature were even less propitious to the 
wooing of the gentle muses. 

And yet the fame of these poets and writers of the past seems 
out of proportion to the scattered works they have left behind 
them. For to us of to-day they seem rather small and insignifi- 
cant compared to the productions of the masters which are our 
€very-day food. But in their day, relatively, considering their 
youth and innuaturity. they stood upon the heights and were 
gazed upon in wonder and exalted in a picturesque sort of way — 
unknown and unknowable to the present— by the nuiltitude who 
were given over wholly to the material and sordid things of life. 

We, however, arc in the position of one who deliberateiy turns 
the opera-glas.ses around and gazes through the small end, in the 
way we judge of their mental stature. But ihere are a few names 
which survive even this method of criticism, and of the.se, three 
specially are well known — Pollock, Ridge and Linen — whose 
works are published in book form. 

Ivdward Pollock is the widest known of the early poets. He 
came to California in 1852, and was a native of Philadelphia, born 
September 2, 1623. Without a day of schooling, yet he managed 
to master the principles of English grammar and rhetoric and 
became a haunter of the stalls of second-hand book stores to in- 
dulge in the reading, which was his chief source of delight. At 
the ao"e of 17 he began to write for the daily press. 

Upon coming to California he worked at his trade of sign 
painting until the publishing of the Piofurt Monthly in 1S54 by 



EARLY POETS. 



47 




Ferdinand Kwer, when he became a regular contributor. lu 1855 
he began the study of law, and was admitted as attorney and 
counselor of the Supreme Court of California. On the 13th of 
December, 1856, he passed away. The literary life of Edward 
Pollock, therefore, is covered by a space of .six years, in which he 
made a vivid impression by 
his poems and won for him- 
self a place among the laurel 
crowned — for he is not yet 
forgotten. 

Pollock himself regarded 
all he had done in the light of 
mete experiment and exercise 
in literature, preparatory to a 
great poem which he hoped 
one day to achieve ; and, 
judging from the finished lines 
he has left, that aspiration 
does not seem chimerical. 

He seemed to have had the 
gift of inspiring others by his personality, as he awakened beau- 
tiful memorials from Frank Soule, William H. Rhodes and James 
T. Bowman, now all passed away. These memorial poems have 
been included in the volume devoted to Pollock's verse, which 
was i.s.sued by Lippincott in 1876. 

Here are to be found many beautiful conceptions and word 
])ictures, and on page after page are revealed noble lines of dignity 
and poetic tracery. "TheP'alcon" is a poem which has been 
classed with the " Ancient Mariner.'' and is written in good, 
strong Saxon, with a touch of weirdness in the story. Best known 
are his love poems of "Olivia" and " Adaline," which are 
musical in their sweetness, and are suggestive of the luxuriance 
of Poe. "The Chandos Picture" is spoken of as remarkable, 
alike for imaginative power and the majesty of its rhythmic 
movement. 

But the lines which cling to the memory are those which 
portray a kinship with our own land, which reveal a poetic 
picture of " Evening," as seen through the Golden Gate. 



b;dwaru pollock. 



48 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



The air is chill, and the hour grows late, 

And the clouds come in through the Golden Gate, 

Phantom fleets they seem to me, 

From a shoreless and unsounded sea; 

Their shadowy spars and misty sails, 

Unshattered have weathered a thousand gales ; 

Slow, wheeling, lo, in squadrons grey, 

They part and hasten across the hay. 

Each to its anchorage finding way. 

Where tlie hills of Sausalito swell. 

Many in gloom may shelter well ; 

And others — behold — unchallenged pass 

By the silent guns of Alcatraz ; 

No greetings of thunder and flame exchange 

The armed isle and the cruisers strange. 

Their meteor flags, so widely flown, 

Were blazoned in a world unknown ; 

So, charmed from war, or wind, or tide. 

Along the quiet wave they glide. 

What bear these ships? what news, what freight 

Do they bring us through the Golden Gate? 

Sad echoes to words in gladness spoken. 

And withered hopes to the poor heart-broken. 

Oh! how many a venture we 

Have rashly sent to the shoreless sea. 

****** 
The air is chill and the day grows late, 
And the clouds come in through the Golden Gate, 
Freighted with sorrow, chilled with woe; 
But these shapes that cluster, dark and low. 
To-morrow shall be all aglow! 
In the blaze of the coming morn these mists. 
Whose weight my heart in vain resists. 
Will brighten and shine and soar to heaven 
In thin, white robes, like souls forgiven; 
For Heaven is kind, and everything, 
As well as a winter, has a spring. 
So, praise to God ! who brings the day 
That shines our regrets and fears away ; 
For the blessed morn I can watch and wait, 
While the clouds come in through the Golden Gate. 

There is another poem which is copied far and wide, entitled 
The Parting Hour," which comes straight into the human 



EARLY POETS 



49 



heart with a touch of quaintness and yet of sadness. And, 
doubtless, when his greater poems are scarcely remembered, these 
two will have a vivid existence. 

THE PARTING HOUR. 

"There's something in the 'parting hour,' 

Will chill the warmest heart, 
Yet kindred, comrades, lovers, friends. 

Are fated all to part ; 
But this I've seen — and many a pang 

Has pressed it on my mind — 
The one that goes is happier 

Than those he leaves behind." 

The story of John Rollin Ridge is so romantic that it has 
been used as a historical basis for a summer novel lately published 
in California. Ridge's father, a full-blooded Cherokee, while 
being educated in Connecticut, fell in love with and married a 
Miss Northrup and then re- 
turned to live with his nation, 
where his father. Major Ridge, 
was a chief of much power and 
influence. But scheming and 
chicanery of whites, who de- 
termined to oust them from 
their lands, caused terrible 
disaster to the Cherokees, re- 
sulting in the assassination of 
John R. Ridge's father in the 
presence of his wife and chil- 
dren, and, at the same time, of 
Major Ridge, his grandfather. 

His mother then withdrew 
from the scene of so much horror and sent her son to New Kngland 
to complete his education. He learned Latin and Greek and 
prepared himself for college, finally casting his fortune among the 
whites, among whom he married. He had a natural gift in 
weaving his fancies into poetic form, but the .struggle for existence 
and the constant hope and endeavor of his life, that the govern- 
ment would right his wrongs and restore him to his own in the 




JOHN ROTJJN RIDOK 



50 CAUFORNIAN WRITKRS AND IJTERATURE. 

Cherokee nation, blighted every aspiration. It was in vain 
Broken-hearted, at last, he succumbed to despair and passed away 
before he had reached his prime. 

As the Indian despoiled of his patrimony by a clumsily de- 
fective government, which could not or would not restore him, he 
will always be a romantic figure. But it is as a man with a soul 
looking up to the stars that he will be best remembered — taking 
his place among the civilized races that despoiled him, and ac- 
quiring the art, the grace, the beauty of speech, which, in his 
book of poems (published by Payot, San Francisco, iS68), reveal 
much that is lofty in thought and exquisite in expression. 

That which is so lacking in most of the early poets — local 
coloring — is here in rich abundance, beginning with the opening 
poem, with its noble lines on " Mount Shasta " : 

Behold the dread Mount iShasta, where it stands 
Imperial midst the lesser heights, and, like 
Some niighty unimpassioned mind, compauionless 
And cold. 

"Humboldt River" is also a pen picture of the country, 
telling how, for three hundred miles, its banks are one continuous 
burying ground — emigrants having died on its shores by thou- 
sands. " To a Star Seen at Twilight " and " Remembrance of a 
Summer's Night " are touched with sublimity in the presence of 
nature. Many beautiful quotations could be given from these 
verses which breathe of poetic aspiration. From page to page it 
is all lofty and delicately sweet or tenderly sorrowful. The love 
poems reveal a new phase of poetic fire. It has always been the 
" nut-brown maid," or " the bronze bride" that poets have given 
a lasting niche in the corridors of fame in their poetic frenzy. But 
this time it is the " bronze yoiing man " who carries off the " blue- 
ej'ed maiden." 

Though he stole her away from the land of the whites 
Pursuit is in vain, lor her hosom delights 
In the love that she bears the dark-eyed, the proud, 
Whose glance is like starlight beneath a night cloud. 

From "The Harp of Broken Strings" to " The Still Small 
Voice " up to " Hail the Plow," there is an even strain of poetic 



EARLY POETS. 5 1 

excellence, and in the last, poetic prophesy that stirs the imagi- 
nation and the heart. 

John Rollin Ridge was undoubtedly a poet, and no Califor- 
nian library — private or public — should be considered complete 
which omits this little volume of soul-stirring verse and commun- 
ion with the stars. He was no imitator, but a profound study in 
himself. No more beautiful lines were ever written to a wife than 
those here addressed "To I^i/.zie," from which is made a brief 
extract : 

Oh lovely one, that pines for me ! 

How well she sootiied each maddened thought. 
And from the ruins of my soul 

A fair and beauteous fabric wrought. 

Whose base was strong, unshaken faith, 

The boon to mightier spirits given — 
Whose towering dome was human love. 

That rose from earth and lived in Heaven. 

Ah, best-beloved, that weeps for me! 

How oft beneath my spirit's wing, 
I've borne her through the worlds of thought. 

And showed her there each holy thing: 

Have caught the fire of themes sublime, 

And wrapt her in their glorious light. 
Till in her loftiness of mind 

She stood an angel in my sight. 

From " The Harp of Broken Strings " : 

And now by Sacramento's stream, 

What memories sweet its music brings; 
The vows of love, iis smiles and tears 

Hang o'er this harp of broken strings. 
It si)eaks, and midst her blushing ftars 

The beauteous one before me stands ! 
Pure spirit in her downcast eyes, 

And tike twin doves her foldtd hands ! 

It breathes once more, and bowed with grief, 

The bloom has left her cheek forever, 
While, like my broken harp-strings now, 

Behold her form with feeling (piiver! 
She turns her face o'er run with tears. 

To him that silent bends above her, 



52 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

And, by the sweets of other years, 

Entreats him still, oh! still to love her! 

He loves her still — but darkness falls 

Upon his ruined fortunes now. 
And 'tis his exile doom to flee, 

The dews like death are on his brow. 

And cold the pang about his heart ; 
Oh! cease — to die is agony! 

'lis worse than death when loved ones part. 

From "A Star Seen at Twilight " : 

Shine on conipanionless 

As now thou seemst. Thou art the throne 

Of thy own spirit, star! 

And mighty things must be alone. 

Alone the ocean heaves, 

Or calms his bosom into sleep ; 

Alone each mountain stands 

Upon its basis broad and deep ; 

Alone through Heaven the comets sweep, 

Ttiose burning worlds which God has thrown 

Upon the universe in wrath. 

As if he hated them — their path 

No stars, no suns may follow, none — 

'!ZYs gi-eat, 'tis great to be alone. 

The name of "Jimmy I^inen " brings up pleasant memories 
to those bright minds of pioneer daj^s who survive him. Amid 
all the material and sordid circumstance of that period, when the 
arts and fine arts ' ' had no rest for the sole of their foot, ' ' he gave 
an encouraging bent toward literature that has not been forgotten. 
His place of business was the great resort for those bright spirits, 
interested in literary matters, who laid the basis of our present 
literature, and his poems became so familiar that his memory is 
still fresh and green. 

While it cannot be said that any of his lines were great, yet 
there was a pathetic touch in some of his Scotch ballads that 
reached the heart, and this quality will cause his name to be 
remembered longer than that of the man who has used his gold 
to build him a palace on one of the hills of the city of San 
Francisco. 



EARLY POETS. 53 

James Linen was born in Edinburgh, served his apprentice- 
ship as a bookbinder with the old firm of Oliver & Boyd, coming 
to New York in his early manhood, and to San Francisco, in the 
words of a Scotch friend of his, " when it was a wee toon." 

His writings appeared in all the current publications of the 
day — Harper's and elsewhere — and one of his poems, " Tak' 
Back the Ring, Dear Jamie," became so popular that others tried 
to claim it away from him. I am assured by a friend of his that 
the manuscript was known to be in his possession long before it 
appeared anywhere or became famous. It has since been set to 
music, and is an exquisite song, the words being beautifully 
adapted in their sympathy and sentiment to the ballad style of 
composition, and not unworthy of being classed with Burns' 
ballads. So also is his best known poem, entitled " I Feel I'm 
Growing Auld, Gude Wife." 

I feel I'm growing auld, gude wife, 

I feel I'm growing auld ; 
My steps are frail, my een are bleared, 

My brow is unco bauld. 
I've seen the snaws o' fourscore years 

O'er hill and meadow fa', 
And, hinnie, were it no' for you 

I'd gladly slip awa'. 

I feel I'm growing auld, gude wife, 

I feel I'm growing auld ; 
Frae youth to age I've keepit warm — 

The love that ne'er turned cauld. 
I canna bear the dreary thocht 

That we maun sindered be — 
There's naething binds my poor auld heart 

To earth, gude wife, but thee. 

I feel I'm growing auld, gude wife, 

I feel I'm growing auld ; 
Life seems to me a wintry waste. 

The very sun feels cauld. 
Of worldly frien's ye've been to me 

Amang them a' the bett; 
Now I'll lay doon my weary head, 

Gude wife, and be at rest. 



54 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

In the two volumes he has left the writings seem very 
unequal — some excellent, others very commonplace. The two 
styles which represent his best eflforts are the Scotch ballads and 
the metrical narrative. This last is shown at its best in the poem 
on death, entitled " Apollyon the Destroyer," which maintains a 
even sweep and flow that are very fascinating. 

Unseen as the whirlwinds that pass over 
Wild regions that wisdom hath yet to discover, 
I sweep through the bounds of all peopled creation, 
Jehovah's grand agent of dire desolation. 

****** 
Ever onward in triumph my course shall I speed 
Through the mazes of time, on my lightning-winged steed; 
And when systems and suns from their spheres shall be hurled, 
I'll expire in the flames of a perishing world. 

Reverses came upon Linen in his old age, and in 1870 he 
found his way to New York, where he died soon after, leaving a 
family in San Francisco. His last poem is rather sad, and con- 
tains a plaintive refrain at the close of each stanza. 

Save God and me there's none shall know 
The bitter cause of all my woe. 



^Mjms 






POETF^V OF THE PACIFIC ^ OUTCHOPPHMGS 

1866. 

EDITOI? : 

May Wentworth. 

COriTt?lBUTOI?S : 

Edward A. Pollock, Lyman Goodman, George H. Ringgold, T. H. Underwood, 
Col. Edivard Baker, G. T. Sprout, D. Stewart, Caxton, Frank Soule, James Linen, 
John R. Ridge, W. A. Kendall, J. F. Bowman, Charles: Warren Stoddard, Charles 
H. Webb, Joseph T. Goodman, Ralph Keeler, R. F. Greeley, Joseph Winans, J. J. 
Owens, William Bausman, W. F. Stewart, John Swetf, Washington Ayer, B. F. Wash- 
ington, Eldridge G. Paige {Dow Jr.), B. P. Avery, E. S. Page, Emilie Lawson, 
Carrie Cnrleton, Sarah M. Clarke, Frances Fuller Victor, Eliza Pittsinger, Anna M. 
Fitch, Sarah E. Carmichael, May Wentworth, Clara G. DoUiver, Ina D. Coolbrith, 
Jean Bruce Washburn, Fannie Bruce Cook, Isabel B. Saxon, Fanny G. McDougal, 
Hannah Neal, Margaret Brooks, Mary V. Lawrence, J. G. Winans, C. A. Chamber- 
lain, E. Louise Mills and others. 

A signal service has been done to early Californian literature 
by the collection of verse known as ' ' Poetry of the Pacific, ' ' by 
May Wentworth, in 1865, which has preserved the best of our 
early poetry in a compact form. In the preface Miss Wentworth 
says : 

It must be remembered that California is still an infant State — a Hercules 
in the cradle. The toiling gold-seekers have had but little time or encourage- 
ment to cultivate belles lettres, and to the future we look to develop the rich mines 
of intellect as well as those of gold and silver. 

But there was a spirit of encouragement and appreciation in 
that day in California (honor to it), sufficient to produce an edition 
large enough so that a copy may easily be found to-day in all the 
libraries and in the second-hand book stores, which can be said of 
only one or two of the Californian books, past or present. Indeed, 
there is a spirit of laxity and depreciation regarding the value of 
books of our own writers among those in power in our libraries, 



56 CALIPORNIAN WRITEIRS AND I,ITERATURE 

and, indeed, among the people at large, which is to be deplored. 
The only places in which they may be found for critical and com- 
parative purposes are in the Bohemian Club library and in the 
library of Captain L,ees, who makes a specialty of gathering such 
works. Our public libraries have no time to be bothered with 
them ; yet the time will come when these tiny buds of aspiration 
from a native plant will be prized highly. 

In the " Poetry of the Pacific," Pollock, of course, has the 
place of honor. Next comes young layman Goodman, who 
passed away in 1861, at the age of 24, with mountain fever — a 
typical tale in those days of the young, delicate-minded and 
sensitive. He was a native of Delaware County, N. Y., and the 
brother of Joseph T. Goodman, the original founder of the 
Virginia Territorial Enterprise and afterward of the San Frayi- 
c is can. 

layman Goodman has left many poems of a high order of 
poetic feeling, but all with the coloring and landscape of the East, 
or else poems of the heart, which find a home under any sky. 
He wrote, with other poets of that day, for the Siinday Globe, the 
best literary paper of the period, in 1859. 

Exquisite in feeling and full of delicacy is his best known 
poem, from which an extract is made. 

THE FAIR TAMBORINIST. 

With feet half naked and bare, 

With aress all tattered and torn, 
With a penny here and a mockery there 

And floods of derision and scorn — 
She wanders the street wherever her feet 

Weary and willing are born, 
With an eye as bright and a cheek as fair 

As the earliest blush of morn. 

***** 

So beautiful, yet so frail, 

So willing, yet so weak — 
Oh, what if the lieart should fail 

And a heavenly purpose break, 
And the dens and kennels and brothels of hell 

Another poor victim should hold — 
A celestial spark be quenched in the dark 

And an angel be bartered for gold. 



POETRY OF THE PACIFIC AND OUTCROPPINGS. 57 

Move patiently on, oh, earth, 

Till mercy's wandering dove 
Shall fly to the realm of its birth 

And rest in the bosom of love ; 
Move patiently on till the crucified Christ 

Shall gather his radiant crown 
From the lowly flowers and bleeding hearts 

Which the world has trampled down. 

In this same collection is Frank Soule's grand poem on 
"lyabor, " which, recited at the Grand Opera House upon the 
occasion of the opening of the Mechanics' Fair a few years ago, 
caused a stir and thrill of feeling, showing that it contains the 
germ of genuine poetic eloquence, which, though the years pass 
by, will continue to live when the merely popular in verse has 
died of inanition. 

Here also are poems from W. S. Kendall, that strange genius, 
who came down from the mountains— a school teacher by profes- 
sion — and seemed a misplaced Jove, with his six feet of height, 
magnificent proportions, hyperian locks and noble appearance. 
But, alas ! he lacked mental balance, and when not writing these 
rich and luiid poems of love and imagination, he sat in the Cob- 
web saloon, " entranced " and gazed at vacancy, until he became a 
burden to those who believed him to be a genius. Finally 
recognizing himself to be "a failure in life's plan," he committed 
suicide by the means of morphine, January, 1876. An extract 
from the newspaper notice runs as follows : 

He received several notices in the Golden Era, complimenting his poems, 
and was led to believe that he was gifted with extraordinary poetical ability. He 
abandoned his school in the country and has since existed as a kind of literary 
waif. 

In the note he left he bewailed his "constitutional over- 
sensitiveness and continual misfortune ' ' as the causes of his 
untimely taking off. While his verse is rich and beautiful in 
music and picture, it is without the ennobling quality which 
speaks of the soul. It is all selfish enjoyment of the senses. 
Some of his lines are vivid. A few, chosen here and there as 
typical of his style, are as follows : 



58 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

A MIDSUMMER AFTERNOON. 

Beneath the vine-clad porch I sit entranced, 
The while the westering noontide ebhs away, 
Immobile hills recline, page-wrapped, against 
The sultry limits of the yellow day. 

I know the star-cowled night with dusky feet 
Is on the trail of glory — yet I dream — 

* * * * * 

And slie is grand in this, her tropic mood, 
Grand as the queen of a voluptuous isle, 
Where forms are routtd mid tempting, and where mouths 
Are luscious centers of perpetual smile. 

***** 
The fountains plash, the coy winds fan the leaves, 
A misty languor of expectant bliss 
Pervades the earth, the sea, the sky — 
I think of ripe lips thirsting for a kiss. 

Very different is the verse of James F. Bowman, who has 
been regarded by newspaper men as having had the brightest all- 
round literary ability of any of our writers as journalist, critic and 
poet. He passed away early in the eighties. His poem, " To- 
gether, " is so full of deep, poetic feeling, that an extract must be 
given. It portrays two who love each other, facing death by 
drowning, apparently, just as the ship goes down. 

TOGETHER. 

I cannot save thee! — we must die — but when 
The stifling waves shall coldly close above 

Our sinking forms, my steadfast eyes even then 
Shall turn to thine with love. 

Thus folded in the last — the last embrace. 

The cruel flood shall drink our failing breoth, 
Thus — gazing fondly in the well-loved face. 

We shall be one in death. 
********* 
For we can look beyond this hour of dread 

With a faith born of love that cannot die, 
And feel in our own hearts the pledge 

Of immortality. 

See, the bow settles for the downward plunge — 
Close, closer to my heart ! — that fearful cry ! 

" We sink ! we sink ! " One kiss, on earth the last ! 
Now farewell earth and sky ! 



POETRY OF THE PACIP^IC AND OUTCROPPINGS. 59 

In contrast to this is the immortal poem of Joseph T. Good- 
man, "Abraham I^incoln," which is periodically rediscovered 
and reprinted in the East, and which is one of the great poems by 
a California writer. It was a favorite of the late Walter Leman, 
and was recited on occasions by him with true oratorical fire. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

A nalion lay at rest. The mighty storm 

That threatened their good ship with direful harm, 

Had spent its fury; and the tired and worn 

Sank in sweet slurabei', as the springtime morn 

Dawned with a promise that the strife should cease ; 

And war's grim face smiled in a dream of peace. 

O ! doubly sweet the sleep when tranquil light 

Breaks on the dangers of the fearful night, 

And, full of trust, we seek the dreamy realm 

Conscious a faithful pilot holds the helm. 

Whose steady purpose and untiring hand, 

With God's good grace will bring us safe to land. 

And so the Nation rested, worn and weak 
PVom long exertion — 

God ! What a shriek 
Was that which pierced to farthest earth and sky, 
As though all Nature uttered a death cry ! 
Awake! Arouse! ye sleeping warders, ho! 
Be sure this augurs some coUossal woe ; 
Some dire calamity has passed o'erhead — 
A world is shattered or a god is dead I 

What ! the globe unchanged ! The sky still flecked 
With stars? Time is? The universe not wrecked 
Then look ye to the jiillars of the State ! 
How fares it with the Nation's good and great ? 
Since that wild shriek told no unnatural birth 
Some mighty soul has shaken hands with earth. 

Lo ! murder hath been done. Its purpose foul 
Hath stained the marble of the Capitol 
Where sat one yesterday without a peer ! 
Still rests he peerless — but upon his bier. 
Ah, faithful heart, so silent now — alack ! 
And did the Nation fondly call thee back. 
And hail thee truest, bravest of the land, 
To bare the breast to the as-^assin's hand? 



6o CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND L,ITERATURE. 

And yet we know if that extinguished voice 
Could be rekindled and pronounce its choice 
Between this awful fate of thine, and one — 
Retreat from what thou didst or wouldst have done, 
In thine own sense of duty, it would choose 
This doom — the least a noble soul could lose. 

There is a time when the assassin's knife 
Kills not, but stabs into eternal life ; 
And this was such an one. Thy homely name 
Was wed to that of Freedom, and thy fame 
Hung rich and clustering in its lusty prime ; 
The god of Heroes saw the harvest time, 
And smote the noble structure at ihe root, 
That it might bear no less immortal fruit. 

Sleep ! honored by the Nation and mankind ! 
Thy name in History's brightest page is shrined. 
Adorned by virtues only, and shall exist 
Bright and adorned on Freedom's martyr list. 

The time shall come when on the Alps shall dwell. 
No memory of their own immortal Tell ; 
Rome shall forget her Caesars, and decay 
Waste the Eternal City's self away ; 
And in the lapse of countless ages, Fame 
Shall one by one forget each cherished name ; 
But thine shalt live through time, until there be 
No soul on earth but glories to be free. 

— /. T. Goodman. 

Also here are selections frota Colonel Baker, James lyinen, 
John R. Ridge, Charles Warren Stoddard, Charles H. Webb, 
Ralph Keeler (of whom more anon), John Swett, Caxton, Benja- 
min P. Avery, and many others. 

Many choice and dainty poems are represented by the names 
of Frances Fuller Victor, Kliza Pittsinger, May Wentworth, Mary 
V. Lawrence, Mrs. Joseph C. Winans and others. Best known, 
perhaps, of all, is Clara G. DoUiver's "No Baby in the House," 
which gave her fame in the East and was afterward issued in 
book form, and InaD. Coolbrith's finished cameos — always carved 
with the hand of a master. 

But the poems most peculiarly striking in the local color for 
which all critics look so vainly in this early work of our writers, 
are those of Mrs. Anna M. Fitch, wife of Thomas Fitch, entitled. 



POETRY OF THE PACIFIC AND OUTCROPPINGS 6 1 

"The Song of the Flume" and "The Flag on Fire." These 
appeared also in ' ' Outcroppings ' ' and were reviewed specially by 
the New York Eve^iing Post (Bennett's paper), as the most dis- 
tinctly Californian in quality and almost the only ones in the 
collection that could not have been written under any other skies 
equally as appropriately. 

These two poems are characteristic and strong, not only in 
local coloring, but also in the handling of our architectural 
English, much more masterful than is usual with the verse that 
issues from the inner arcanum of a woman's train. Extract from 

THE SONG OF THE FLUME. 

Through the deep tunnel, down the dark shaft 

I search for the shining ore, 
Hoist it away to the light of day. 

Which it never has seen before. 

Spade and shovel, mattock and pick, 

Ply them with eager haste, 
For my golden sliower is sold by the hour, 

And the drops are too dear to waste. 

Lift me aloft to the mountain's brow. 

Fathom the deep, "blue vein," 
And I'll sift the soil for the shining spoil, 

As I sink to the valley again. 

The swell of my swarthy breast shall bear 

Pebble and rock away ; 
Though they brave my strength, they shall yield at length, 

But the glittering gold shall stay. 

"The Flag on Fire" was founded upon a peculiar incident 
that took place in Virginia City, Nev. A flag floated from the 
summit of Mount Davidson, and one evening, July 30, 1863, 
upon the breaking away of a storm, this banner was suddenly 
illuminated by some curious refraction of the rays of the setting 
sun. Thousands of awe-struck persons witnessed the spectacle, 
which continued till the streets of the city, 1,500 feet below, were 
in utter darkness. The time was one of great patriotic feeling, 
which breathes in every line of the poem, from which, for lack of 
space, only an extract can be given : 



62 CAIvIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITBRATURE. 

FLAG ON FIRE. 

Fire, fire ! 

Fire, fire! 
Who has set the flag on fire? 

What vile traitor, 

By Creator 
Spurned, thus dare defy despair? 
(rod of prophesy and power, 
Stay tlie omen of the hour ! 

***** 

Oil, the splendor ! 

Oh, the wonder ! 
To the worshiping beholder! 

Gathering, glowing, 

Flaming, flowing, 
Sykward, fiercer, freer, bolder, 
Burn the beating stars of empire, 
Lit by traitor torch nor camp fire. 

Blood nor pallette, 

More than all that, 
Mid those starry embers linger ! 

'Tis an omen, 

Sent by no man, 
Signet on an unseen finger, 
Prophesy from Heaven's own portal. 
Borne by winged worlds, immortal. 

Now the circling 

Darkness purpling. 
Plumes the rock-ribbed mountain hoary; 

Yet the hallowed 

Flag impillowed 
Burns aloft in stilly glory ; 
Wonder nmte no man inweigheth. 
Peace, be still! a nation prayeth ! — Anna M. Fitch. 

" Outcroppings " is a iiuicli smaller volume of verse, collected 
mostly by Mary Viola Tiugley (now Mrs. Lawrence), and pub- 
lished by Roman. It contained many of the same poems as 
"Poetry of the Pacific," which it preceded. The contributors 
were Pollock, Lawson, Goodman, Coolbrith, Webb, Stoddard, 
Kendall, Bowman, Carleton, Avery, Fitzgerald, Wells, Ridge, 
Duncan, Linen and Mrs. Fitch. 



Flf^ST Uif^ITEHS OF HtlmOH AJ^D Tf^RVEli 



SKETCHES op 

George H. Derby, J. Ross Browne and Charles Nordlioff. 

As early as 1853 appeared the writings of the first humorist 
ill California, the original founder of that comical style in which 
afterward Mark Twain and Prentice Mulford achieved distinction, 
and Joseph Wasson of a later time and certain journalists of 
to-day have adopted as their own. The school of caricature 
developed naturally in this atmosphere, if only as a protest against 
the conventional forms and customs of the East. 

But the very first humorist of this particular school, and, 
indeed, of that time in the United States, was Col. George 
Horatio Derby of the Uni- 
ted States Army, who wrote 
his amiable satires under 
the names of "John 
Phoenix" and "John P. 
Squibob." They appeared 
first as a protest against 
the stalky and profound 
style of public documents, 
and were meant primarily 
to show the absurdity of 
conclusions based upon ap- 
parent premises. 

There are two books in 
existence, one entitled 
"The Squibob Papers" 
and the other " Phoenixi- 

ana," issued in 1855 and 1859, the latter of which had passed 
through its twelfth edition in 1884, with still a demand for it. 
The element of grotesquerie which enters into these books has 




cor., G. H. DKRBY. 



64 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

made them favorites in niaii)^ Californian households — thus the 
children have poured over these quaint and ridiculous recitals, 
with their absurd illustrations, and have grown to manhood and 
womanhood knowing "Phoenix" where they never more than 
heard the greater names. 

Col. George H. Derby was born in Dedham, Mass., April 3, 
1823. He graduated at West Point in 1S40, and was made 
brevet second lieutenant of ordnance. In the war with Mexico 
he was severely wounded and brevetted first lieutenant. He then 
conducted surveys and explorations in Minnesota, Department of 
the Pacific and Texas, and, in 1853, survey and improvements of 
San Diego harbor, Cal, Rising to the rank of captain of 
engineers, finally he was emplo5'ed in erecting lighthouses on the 
Florida and Alabama coast. While in discharge of his duty he 
suffered from a sunstroke, causing loss of sight and softening of 
the brain, from which he died in New York, May 15. 1S61. 

This is the dry recital of the career of a man who achieved 
something in his military profession ; but it is as a writer that he 
made a lasting impression upon early California. Those bur- 
lesques and satires upon the rivalry between San Francisco and 
Benicia for supremacy give an excellent idea of the historic 
points of the hour, as fresh and vivid to-day as when they razored 
off the follies of the past. 

His celebrated achievement, "Squibob's Composition of 
Armies: A New Method of the Attack and Defense of Posts," 
very nearly caused him to be courtmartialed, because of the 
ricicule he brought upon the army. The chief weapons of defense 
were to be pepper-pots, trained bulldogs held by each soldier and 
field pieces strapped to the backs of jackasses. 

His ' ' Official Report ' ' of Professor John Phoenix of a 
military survey and reconnoissance of the route from San Fran- 
cisco to the Mission of Dolores, made with a view to ascertain 
the practicability of connecting those points by a railroad, was a 
serious piece of cajolery. Although it was then and is now 
generall}' known that the distance between San Francisco and the 
Mission is but two and a half miles, j-et by the mathematical 
computations made by the sur\'eyors with the instruments the 
route grew and grew into many miles. Suspicious himself, at 



POETRY OF THE PACIFIC AND OUTCROPPINGS. 65 

last, Phoenix investigated the matter and found, to his consterna- 
tion, that the men had measured and included in, the many times 
they had traversed the ground going in and out of the saloons 
along the proposed route. 

As a clever parody on the way that travelers arrive at con- 
clusions regarding strange tribes, the following is selected as an 
example : 

" In tlie early morning the natives gathered around our camp to the number 
of eighteen. [This was on Kearny street] We were surprised to iind tliem of 
diminutive stature, the tallest not exceeding three feet in height. Tliey were 
excessively mischievous and disposed to steal such trilling things as they could 
carry away. Their countenances are of the color of dirt, and their hair white 
and glossy as the silk of maize. The one we took to be their chief was an 
exceedingly diminutive personage, but with a bald head, which gave liim a very 
venerable appearance, lie was dressed in a dingy robe of jaconet, and was borne 
in the arms of one of his followers. On making them a sjjeech, proposing them 
a treaty and assuring them of the protection of their Great Father, Pierce, the 
chief, was affected to tears, and on being comforted by his followers, exclaimed 
"Da-da! da-da ! " which was intended as a respectful allubion to the President. 
We i)resented hiui afterward with some beads, hawk bells and other presents, 
which he immediately thrust into his mouth, saying " Goo ! " and crowing like a 
cock. This was rendered by the interpreter into an expression of high satisfac- 
tion. After which they took their leave. The following is a description of this 
deeply interesting people: Kearny street native. Name, Bill. Height, two 
feet nine inches. Ilair, white. Complexion, dirt color. Occupation, erecting 
pyramids of dirt and water. When asked what they were, replied, "Pies." 
(Word in Spanish, meaning feet ; supposed they might be the feel or foundation 
of some barbarian structure.) Keligious belief, obscure. When asked who 
made him, replied "Par." (Supposed to be name of one of their prinei])al deities.)" 

In his lectures on "Astronomy," Colonel Derby says : 

" Sacred history informs us that a distinguished military man, named 
Joshua, once caused the sun 'to stand still.' Plow he did it is not mentioned; 
but translators are not always perfectly accurate, and we are inclined to the 
opinion that it might have wriggled a very little when Joshua was not looking 
directly at it." 

But perhaps the most vivid piece of practical joking was 
when, in the absence of the owner and editor of the Democratic 
paper, the San Diego Herald, he waggishly turned the politics 
upside down, making it an adherent of the Whig party instead, 
and illustrated the paper throughout with all the absurd little 
advertisement pictures, whether appropriate or not. 



66 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



" With unbounded respect for myself and everybody, tbe autlior remains, 

John Phocnix." 

Delightfully humorous are the writings of J. Ross Browne, 
the great traveler of early dscys, who made his home in California 
in 1855, and who wrote up, in a bright and pungent style, locali- 
ties almost unknown, as well as the traveled parts of the world. 

He was born in Ireland in 1822. His father was editor of a 
paper in Dublin, and some of his editorials being offensive to the 
politicians in power and complications arising, he came to America 
and settled in Louisville, Ky., while J. Ross was still a child. 

At the age of 16, he became reporter for papers of that city, 
and at 18 shipped before the mast as a "whaler" and remained 
three years, subsequently writing "Sketches of a Whaling 
Cruise." Afterward he acted as official shorthand reporter in the 
U.S. Senate and as private secretary of the Hon. Robt. J. Walker. 

In 1849 he came around the 
"Horn" to California and is 
enrolled among the Pioneers. 
Then he traveled to Europe and 
the Holy Land in 1853, ^^^ sub- 
sequently published ' ' Yusef, ' ' 
his best known work. Return- 
ing to California in 1855, he be- 
came confidential agent of the 
Government to investigate In- 
dian affairs. Again he returned 
to Europe in i860, as correspon- 
dent to the Sacramento Union 
and Haj-pcr' s Magazine. 

In 1864 he was back in Cal- 
j. ROSS brownb;. ifornia again, and his articles in 

Harper' s attracted general attention, as he wrpte up Esmeralda, 
Bodie and Mono Lake, "the Dead Sea of the West," and those 
mysterious mining regions of Nevada. He is remembered still by 
those who met him socially, in those dark can3'ons and wild fron- 
tiers for his genial and refined manner and bright and witty con- 
versation. Coming among the people personally made him better 
known than anv other writer of that time. 




POETRY OP THE PACIFIC AND OUTCROPPINGS. 67 

He was, however, essentially a family man in spite of his 
roving, and built a very pretty residence, known by the name of 
Pagoda Hill, in the foothills of Oakland, where he resided with 
his family, consisting of wife and eight children. In 1868 he was 
appointed United States Minister to China, succeeding Burlin- 
game, returning in 1870 and passing away October, 1875, at the 
age of fifty-three years. 

Many of his writings, which were originally published in 
Harper^ s Magazine, were subsequently put in book form under 
the following titles: "An American Family in Germany;" 
"The Land of Thor ; " "Apache I^and ; " " Crusoe's Island ; " 
" Yusef." 

No book of travel is more charming than " Yusef," which is, 
fortunately, to be found in all the libraries. In his preface he says: 

" If there be any moral in this book, therefore, it is this: that there is no 
great difliculty in traveling all over the world when one sets about it with the 
determination to do it and keeps trying till he succeeds : that there is no position 
in life disreputable and degrading while self-respect remains, and nothing impos- 
sible that has once been done by man." 

In a description of the difficulties made in Naples to obstruct 
the progress of travelers wishing to take steamer to the Orient, 
simply to show the power of the government, he becomes so 
fretted by a ticket clerk, who spends his time waxing the ends of 
his moustache into quills, instead of tending to his business, that 
he says : 

"All the harm I wish that man is, that these quills of his moustache may 
be broken off before his personal beauty produces such an effect as to cause any 
yonng lady to marry him. For I am certain, if ever he gets a wife, they will 
run her through the eyes in less than a week." 

Yusef is a wonderful character, with all the attractions and 
defects of a clever dragoman of the East, and is delightfully por- 
trayed in inimitable style. The description of "The Raas," a 
remarkable oriental dance ; the race of the horses ; the playing by 
Browne himself of "Old Zip Coon," on his flute, amid the ruins 
of Baalbec, and the guard of Arabs, who are emplo^^ed to protect 
the travelers against the dangerous Bedouins, are all bright and 
tinted with the rainbow hues of humor. 



68 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I.ITERATURE. 

Of the Arab guard he says : 

"When 1 saw tlioiu witli tlieir long guns pointing in ovory (Hrootion I at 
once conmutted myself to I'rovideiice. It was evident that we whom they were 
employed to protect were the only ones in danger. It was my settled determina- 
tion to join tlie Hedonin party at once, and remain on that side until the con- 
elusion of the tight." 

Among the pages are some noble passages where the Ameri- 
canism of J. Ross Browne will come rolling in like the waves of 
the sea. No chapter is bettor than his " Ouarrel With the 
Ancients.'' wliich every one ought to read and ponder on. It will 
take rank with any extract from oitr Californiau writers, past or 
present. 

A tJl'AUUKI, W ri'll I'lIK ANrlKNT!?. 

"Oh wondrous people 1 Oh mighty kings and chieftains! Listen to a few 
plain facts. I am going to address you in your tombs and post you up concern- 
ing the nineteenth century. Tourists have so long sung your praises that I mean 
to make a martyr of myself by telling you the truth. 

It is (piite true that your temples and castles and palaces arc s[)lcndiil 
speciniens of architecture; that your statuary is wonderfully beautiful; that you 
livcil in a style of magnificence unknown to the peojdc of the present day; that 
all the relics you have left us bear evidence of great power and extraordinary 
skill. But you were a barbarous people at best. The very splendor of your 
works is an evidence of your barbarism. What oceans of money you spent in 
palaces and tombs and mausoleums. \Vhal an amount of human labor yon 
lavished in doing nothing. If the Pyramids of Egypt were ten miles high 
instead of a few hundred feet would the world beany better for it? would the 
mass of mankind be more enlightened, or more virtuous, or more happy? If the 
Colosseum at Kome had accoinmoilatcd tifty millions of j^eople instead of titty 
thousand woidd it have taught them the blessings of peace and good government, 
or disseminated useful knowledge among them? xr * * ^ * 

We don't buiUl pyramids ami colpsscums, but we build railroads. The 
smallest steamboat that paddles up the Hudson is greater than the greatest 
monument of antiquity. * * * * * For the matter of magnificent temples, 
if we had the time and the money to waste we could erect for the amusement of 
kings, women and chihlrcn, toys a great deal bigger and quite as useless. * * 
)t * * l<Va>!ting and lighting and toy-making made you distinguished. We 
will jn-ollt by your follies and endeavor to earn a name in ages to come by 
encomi>as(-ing the eartii with the blessings of freedom and civilization." 

Charles Nordoff is well known in California as the writer of 
pleasant volumes of travel. His sketches have beeti popularly 
received, and are to be found on many tables. Mr. Nordoft" is a 
native of Erwitte, Prussia, born August, 1830. In 1835 he came 



rOKTUY Ol" Tllli I'ACII'IC AND OUTCKOl'l'INGS 



69 



to America, attciuliiig school in Cincinnati, and afterward was 
api)renticed to a printer. In 1854 he went to Philadel[)hia, and 
soon after shipped in the United States Navy and spent the follow- 
ing three years in going aronnd the world. He then returned to 
newspaper work in Phila- 
delphia, and afterward In- 
dianapolis and also New 
York, working at the latter 
place as a journalist on the 
New York livcniiii}; Post 
and Tribune. 

Coming to California in 
187 1, he was the first 
writer, after J. Ross 
Browne, to proclaim the 
advantages of the State, 
which he did in a volume 
entitled "California for 
Health, Pleasure and Resi- 
dence." Another well 
known volume is his 
"Northern California, Ore- 
gon and the Sandwich Islands." Some of his chapters are like 
stories in their pleasant recital, but they are devoted mostly to 
historical research and the facts in the case. His description of 
some of the early Dons of California surrounded by their leagues 
of land, and generously bestowing a horse upon the belated 
traveler, gives a good idea of the early days. Besides these he has 
written many books upon geographical, marine and historical 
subjects, and has been special correspondent for the New York 
Herald for many years. His " Politics for Young Americans" is 
said to be a book which should be placed in the hands of every 
young voter, but author-like, Mr. Nordhoff, him.self, expresses a 
preference for his treatise on " God and the Future Life." 

Coronado Beach, vSan Diego, is the place of Mr. NordhoflPs 
home, and many people seek him out to enjoy his company for a 
brief hour, as one of the attractions of this beautiful spot of 
nature. 




CHAKM'.S N()1<I)()K1<". 



"A great soul, secure in its own existence, doth not grow old." 



Rfi EflHLiV JOUJ^NfllilST OF UXFLH TIOIES 

Calvin B. McDonald. 

"No matter where uttered, a great thought never dies." 



Unclassified and standing apart from all other groups of 
writers is the majestic figure of Calvin B. McDonald, whose war 
editorials have made him known as " The Thunderer." There is 
no other man like him in California. Without a journal, without 
a constituency, without any influence behind him, he is recog- 
nized as having been a power in the land during the troubled 
times of California. More than any one journalist has he touched 
the heart with his utterances, both through the press and by 
oratory, while his invective and denunciation have been applied 
to wholesome purposes with admirable effect. 

The picture of Mr. McDon- 
ald here presented is inadequate 
and defective. It fails to show 
the keenness, the courage, the 
quiet reserve, the indomitable 
will of the man, those character- 
istics that differentiate him from 
the ordinary citizen and make 
him what he is. 

It seemed strange to me, 
while engaged in the preparation 
of this book, that a man so well 
known should have no earthly 
abiding place, and I was almost convinced, after fruitless effort ta 
find him, that he had already passed beyond. 

The day that brought his response was one of serene satis- 
faction. With a faithful record of Calvin B. McDonald in its. 







CALVIN B. Mcdonald. 



AN EARLY JOURNALIST OF WAR TIMES. 7 1 

pages, the book could be excused for having an existence, for 
he was a shadow of the past worthy of being materialized among 
the lesser shades. 

I saw him in a little room in a lodging-house in Oakland 
where he has his home. He was a man of breadth and height, a 
noble brow, keen, deep-set eyes of blue — eyes of fearlessness and 
honesty. Age had crept on kindly. His face was smooth, 
though I knew he must be nearly seventy. His nose was long, 
and straight as a blade, his features finel)^ chiseled. There was 
no line of hardness or bitterness there. It was a reposeful face. 
He was free from any mannerism, talked quietly, but I could feel 
a force behind that was not hinted by any outward expression. I 
led him along to tell me of himself. 

" Did you not write for the Sacramento Uyiion f " 
"No." 

" How was that? Nearly all our early journalists had some 
part or parcel in the Union.'" 

" I was on an opposition paper, and fought them, so they 
had no place for me," and a faint smile played over his face. 
" Did you ever write for the Overland f " 
"No." 

" How was that? Nearly all our writers with any talent 
at all were counted in there." 

" I was a political writer. I was always studying into the 
situation of things and trying to see what the outcome would be. ' ' 
" Did you not write for any of the other prominent journals?" 
" No. There were few papers I could write for, because never 
in my life have I written against my convictions. I never wrote 
against my politics or against religion or in favor of any fad of 
the hour of which I did not approve. ' ' 

"I don't see how you got along," I said meekly. " I under- 
stand that many of the finest orations which have been delivered 
by our business men upon celebrated occasions were in reality 
written by yourself. Is that so ? " 

" No. I never wrote anything for anybody else to deliver. I 
never did that kind of thing. I have written mostly regarding 
political situations and matters of public welfare. It has been 
said that the influence of three men in the early sixties saved 



72 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

California to the Union — Starr King, Baker and Calvin McDon- 
ald. I don't know how true it is, but the editorials I wrote in 
the A7)ierican Flag were quoted in thousands of papers, especially 
the one entitled " Give us Back our Dead." I see many of my 
articles traveling around the press, years after they first appeared, 
changed in places but still the same idea." 

" Were you ever married ? " 

"Yes. I married an actress. Here is her picture," and I 
looked at the arabrotype of a beautiful-eyed, black-haired woman 
in the costume of forty years ago. 

"She was very handsome, and one of the best " Lucrezia 
Borgias " of that time. She was a Southern woman. I did my- 
self out of going to the Senate as representative of California hy 
marrying her." 

' ' You always seem to have done the wrong thing for j'our- 
self," I said. " But you have always had the pleasure of doing 
just what you wanted to do." 

"Yes." 

I sat in the presence of one who was king of his own mind. 
"With poverty and death closing in upon him (he had been ill), in 
his loneliness and desolation he glanced at his four poor walls 
and rejoiced at his freedom. He was a man who had never been 
subsidized, never been tempted to give up the right of free think- 
ing for such poor gain as was to be found in mere comfort of 
body or in the satisfaction of ambition. 

When, years ago, a matter arose involving the title of certain 
property which a city ceded to a corporation, Mr. McDonald 
wrote a four-hundred-word paragraph, in capitals, in one of the 
Oakland daily papers, containing the reason why it was not legal, 
he maintaining that the city had no rights in the case. Twenty 
years passed, but the certain paragraph still lived ; and finallj' 
the Supreme Court has decided the question, and the decision is 
based upon the very argument used by Calvin B. McDonald years 
ago in his small paragraph. 

He always favored writing reverently. Therefore the people 
of the churches naturally were friendly to the journalist, who, 
among an irreverent set of writers, so maintained himself. 

Several years ago a seeress by the name of Woodworth appeared 



AN EARLY JOURNALIST OF WAR TIMES. 73 

in Oakland and began holding seances in a tent. Hysteria and 
other excitable conditions followed among her hearers as a result 
of her prophe.sies. Such an excitement stirred up much opposi- 
tion among the ministers of the various denominations, who .sought 
to unite against the .seeress and drive her out of the city. 
McDonald heard of this proposition and that evening aro.se in the 
tent and addres.sed the 5,000 or .so of people who there were 
gathered. His deiuinciation of them for their action was based 
upon the American right of liberty and of free speech for all — 
even the " .seere.ss " and "prophetess." And, as a result of this 
oration, .she was left to pursue her peculiar methods of converting 
people — left to pursue her way in peace. 

But by this action McDonald did himself, personally, no good, 
for he lost his church adherents, and the others, whom he had 
befriended, were like the chaff before the wind — scattered and 
gone — when the excitement was over. But with the conviction 
that he had defended one of the underlying principles of the 
American Constitution he was .satisfied. The result to him.self 
he ignored. Neither would he change his old-time policy. vStill 
would he be reverent to religion, no matter whether the adherents 
of that religion were displeased with him or not; still would his 
pen be sacred to the cause, for the reason that he believed it 
better for the policy of the people and the well being of the com- 
munity to treat religious belief respectfully. 

Set apart from the world of gain and the encroachments of 
our present civilization, even though his hands were empty, he 
seemed one to be envied for his fearlessness, .serenity and .self- 
respect. 

In tracing up the origin of Mr. McDonald it is not at all sur- 
prising to learn that he is of Huguenot descent, mingled with 
Scotch; in fact this element of the Huguenot strain might almost 
have been surmi.sed from the character of the man. He was born 
in Juniata County, Penn., in 1825, educated in Dickinson Col- 
lege, Carlisle, Penn., and also took a course at Jefferson College. 
In 1848 he taught .school in Berk.shire County, Va., coming 
thence acro.ss the plains, in 1849, to California, and working in 
the mines for five years. In 1854 he became editor of the Sierra 
Sentinel^ in Downieville, and has continued in new.spaper work 



74 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

ever since that time in San Francisco, Sacramento, Placerville, 
Sonoma, Weaverville, Yreka, Oakland, Salem and Portland, Or., 
and St. lyouis. Mo. Of himself he says : 

" I have been one of the gypsies of the press, and acquired my reputation 
chiefly in the old American Flag, in San Francisco, in war times. I was the first 
editor of the St. Louis Globe, and might have done well for myself there, but ill 
health compelled me to return to California once more. Afterward I was editor 
of the Oregon Statesman and the Oakland Neivs. Have lived in Oakland several 
years, chiefly in retirement, and writing only occasionally.' Of the men at work 
in the editorial iield when I entered it in 1854, more than sixty are dead, and 
only three or four are living^Geo. K. Fitch, Louis R. SuU, Rollin M. Daggett 
and myself. Loring Picktring was the last to go, and "Hurrah for the next tliat 
dies." 

With a mind still bright and original, with a pen ever gliding 
into quaint and touching passages, or sweeping into the grander 
periods of oratory, it seems strange that this man should have 
ceased living since the year 1867. For he dwells in the past, and 
since the war of the rebellion has drawn to a close, merely endures 
existence. He maintains that there is nothing to write for now — 
that by comparison all the problems of this later day are childish 
and puerile. 

" No matter where uttered a great thought never dies." As 
proof of this statement, which is given the place of honor in this 
volume, as a keynote to the whole context, may be cited the 
story of its origin. 

In 1867 Mr. McDonald delivered a lecture in Salem, Or., on 
the subject of "A New Nation." This lecture contained a 
paragraph which lived and did not die. It is a curious study to 
note the changes through which this ' ' great thought ' ' has passed 
in order to reach its best expression. The original form is less 
succinct and condensed than the last one which was found among 
the literary papers of the late Adley H. Cummins, changed by 
himself to suit his purpose in connection with his own oratorical 
efforts, as was his custom, and credited as before to Calvin B. 
McDonald. For the sake of comparison these two forms ot this 
same quotation are here presented : 



AN EARIvY JOURNALIST OF WAR TIMES. 75 

THE ORIGINAL FORM. THE CONDENSED FORM. 

" A great truth, no matter where "No matter where uttered, a great 

uttered, within the hearing of en- thought never dies. It does not per- 

lightened mankind, never dies. It is ish amid the snows of mountains or 

not obstructed in its course by insen- the floods of rivers or in the depths 

sate walls or impervious rafters. It of valleys. For a time it may seem- 

does not perish in the snows of winter ingly be forgotten, but itissomewhere 

or the dearth of summer, or in the embalmed in memory, and after a 

floods of rivers or upon the waters of while reappears on the horizon like a 

strange seas. For a time it may be long-gone star returning on its un- 

lost to view and seemingly to popular changing orbit, wnd on its way around 

recollection, but after a while it will the endless circle of eternity." 
rise again on the verge of the moral 
horizon, like a long-gone star return- 
ing in her appointed orbit, and will 
take its way in the processions of 
eternity." 

Relative to the idea herein contained, it is maintained by 
David I^esser I^ezinsk}^ (one of the late writers) that if once it has 
entered the mind of man, even though it may never be outwardly 
expressed— even though it has its birth in the brain of one out at 
sea or on a lonely raft, and the next moment the waves engulf 
him— yet, even then, " the great thought never dies." 

The articles most quoted from Mr. McDonald's writings, and 
which seem never to lose their fascination, are those entitled "The 
Gray Eagle from Mount Hood," "Give us Back our Dead," 
"The Angel of Reconciliation," " Starr King's Dust," "Publi- 
cans and Sinners," and "A Daughter of the House of David,' 
the last one of which is here quoted : 

A DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. 

"Ave Maria! ex giia nascit-ur CAm<ws " —Hail Mary! of whom Christ was 
born. How that ancient formula of adoration reverberates around the circumfer- 
ence of the globe at every recurring daybreak of the Blessed Nativity ! From 
the Alps to the Andes; from the fervid precincts of the equator to where the 
pious explorer utters his oft-repeated prayer in some tosbing and straining ship 
in the herce latitudes of the pole ; from the majestic basilica of t*t. Peter's to the 
rudest tabernacle in the depths of the savage forest, or on the verge of the lonely 
desert, surrounded by the rectangular sign of salvation — 

" Salvation ! oh, salvation ! 

The joyful sound proclaim, 
'Till earth's remotest nation 
Has learned Messiah's name ! 



76 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



And the humble lodger in the stable, poor Mary of Nazareth, the spouse 
of the Holy Ghost, what a resplendeat crown of glory, what an unspeakable 
fullness of renown is hers ! In comparison with the lovely Jewess, all other 
illustrious women of history and tradition sink into obscurity; Cornelia, the 
proud mother of the Gracchi ; Semiramis, the splendid Queen of the Assyrians ; 
Cleopatra, the voluptuous syren ot the Nile ; Olympia, who bore a conqueror of 
the world ; Letitia, who gave Napoleon to imperishable fame ; Catharine, the 
mighty Empress of the Muscovites; Isabella of Castile, whose benevolence 
revealed the dreaded mysteries of the Sea of Darkness, and unveiled a hidden 
continent ; the glorious Elizabeth of England — what were all these in comparison 
with the once lowly daughter of the house of David, whose maternal agony 
among the dumb but sympathetic beasts of the stalls delivered to Earth and 
Heaven the Babe in the Manger, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of kings, the Son 
of God, the Redeemer of a sin-stricken and perishing world ? 

Ave Maria ! is the loving acclaim of uncounted millions on every continent, 
under every zone, upon every habitable island of the globe. Her statues and 
pictures are the objects of love and adoration in all nations and by all tongues ; 
and the most inspired genius of a thousand years has exhausted its art and 
invention in giving imaginary form and beauty to the adorable mother of Christ. 

At midnight, at cock-crowing, and in the morning of the Blessed Nativity, 
"Ave Maria!" is thundered by the mighty multitude in the great cathedral on 
the banks of the Tiber; and '^Ave Maria" is gently responded by the dusky 
maiden on the far-off shores of Lakes Superior and Pen d'Oreille." 

Calvin B. McDonald. 

And this is the man whose name brings up strange legends — a fighting 
editor, who, during war time, made his way through the angry crowds outside 
the American Flag office, ready to kill or to be killed at any instant for his 
loyalty to his country. And yet, he live 1 to write of the fatherless little South- 
ern girl, whom he called " An Angel of Reconciliation." 




THE SflCHflmErlTO OfllOri. 

1850— 18T5. 

PROP^IETOHS AflD PUBIiISHEI^S, 

James Anthony, Paul Morrill and H. W. Larkin. 

EHI^LiIEST pOUflDEI^S, 

William Kurtz, Edward S. Jefferis, Job Court, "Doc" Davidson, Charley Hanlicher. 

EDITOf?S : 

Dr. Morse, Lauren Upson, Joseph Winans, Henry Clay Watson, Samuel 
Seabough, Newton Booth, Charles Henry Webb, Mark Twain, Noah Brooks, William 
Bailsman, Lauren E. Crane, James L. Watkins, A. P. Catlin, E. O. Waite, J. C. 
Young, Mary V. Laurence, and others. 

IiOCflli UXHITE1?S, 

Frank Folger, A. S. Smith, Paschal Coggins. 

The position held by the Sacramento Union in its day as a 
literary and public-opinion-making force entitles it to a place in 
the niche of fame. Never in the history of journals has there 
been a journal that has so entered into the lives, feelings, senti- 
ments and affections of a constituency, nor wielded greater power, 
" making and unmaking Governors and Senators and swaying 
the balance upon the great questions of National as well as State 
importance." 

This was not accidental, nor yet a matter of mere politi- 
cal cleverness in the successful manipulation of these forces 
to accomplish their ends. Never has there been a paper or journal 
with such a sentiment surrounding its every motive as that of the 
Sacramento Uiiion. Because of the well-known honesty and 
incorruptibility and patriotism of its proprietors, James Anthony, 



78 



CAI^IFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 



Paul Morrill and Henry W. Larkin (a celebrated modern trium- 
virate), who always shaped and directed its policy, it was believed 
in and trusted by the people of California. 

This was why, in several elections of vast importance to the 
State and to the Nation, the influence of the Union (well and 
happily named), was supreme. This was why, in 1861-2, this 
journal was worth more to the Union cause in California than 
an army corps. It was the character of these three men which 
made it a power in the land. They were not to be bought nor 
sold nor bribed nor tempted. And on that ground did they stand 
firm to the last, 

In giving his instructions to the last of the leading editorial 
writers for the Union, no less a man than Samuel Seabough, Paul 
... Morrill spoke as follows: "You 

know the past course of this 
paper. We wish you to follow 
it as closely as you can. Be 
just to everybody. Never 
strain the truth. Do not 
mince your words when you 
have to attack a great wrong. 
But above all things, the 
U7iion is the friend of the com- 
mon people ! And the enemy 
of their enemies, high or low, 
rich or poor." 

" It is doubtless true," as 
is stated in the Chronicle's 
obituary of Morrill, "that these 
words supply the clue to the 
immense popularity and power of that paper, hated as it was by 
all political rings and public plunderers." 

A friend of the common people ! In the words of a dying 
orator, " I want to live ! I want to finish my work — to be the 
friend for the friendless ! — the voice for the voiceless ! " so fulfilled 
the Unio7i this high mission. What wonder that a common 
chord was struck, and in the mountain fastness or behind the 
plow or in the pine forest or in the mill or the mine, all through 




PAUL MORRILL. 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 



79 



the length and breadth of California, Nevada and the Pacific 
States was a mighty force, crystalizing sentiment, voicing patriot- 
ism and arousing the common people from their lethargy into 
concerted action. Here was the voice of themselves, clarion-like, 
proclaiming their inmost thoughts in silvery trumpet-peals to the 
great world. 

In that day (the day of the Unwi) there were no sinuous 
bauds of steel with advancing genii of steam and quick transit to 
annul distance and time, and bring the common people together 
in either mind or body. Distance and time, like the great walls 
of China, were hemming them in, and when the great lumbering 
stage came rolling in, the hun- 
ger and thirst for the Sacra- 
mento Union, perhaps a week 
old, was something so vividly 
portrayed as never to be for- 
gotten. 

In the childhood of the 
writer, in the silver mines of 
the State of Nevada, it was 
the great event of the day that 
every man lived for, and every 
line was scanned as if it were 
precious as Biblical lore. 

The gallery of writers for 
the Union would be an exten- 
sive one if presented. It would JAMKS AxNTHONY. 
take a volume to do justice to the varieties of style and manner- 
ism and quality of mind of these who wrote for it. Necessarily 
these names must receive but brief mention. 

The history of the Union began in 1850, when it was founded 
by William Kurtz, Edward G. Jefferis and Job Court. The 
names of Doc Davidson and Charley Hanlicher also are mentioned. 
But these names are mere shadows of the past, and the real life of 
the Union began in 1852, when James Anthony, Paul Morrill and 
H. W. Larkin instituted their fearless and remarkable champion- 
ship of the "common people." 

Morrill, as well as being broad-minded and patriotic, was the 




8o CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

practical printer of the firm. Anthony was a strong man, of great 
boldness and bravery, a good fighter, not particularly genial or 
social, but loyal to his convictions of duty — a quality that even 
his enemies admired him for — and the business man of the firm. 
Larkin was not so well known as the other two, but in their 
conferences he carried great weight — the three minds acting har- 
moniously together for a certain specified purpose for a length of 
more than twenty years. 

It is not to be supposed that the power exerted by the Union 
was always enjoyed by the people of the State. When it came to 
personal measures the dogmatism and arrogance of these three 
men often aroused opposition. In i860 the Democratic members 
of the Legislature of California joined in raising a fund to estab- 
lish a daily paper in Sacramento. It was named the Daily 
Standard. Charles T. Botts was editor, and M. Upton, who had 
reported the speeches of Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, when 
he visited America in 185 1, was brought from the East to report 
the proceedings of the Legislature. This action was taken solelj^ 
and alone because of the attitude of the Union toward the Demo- 
cratic majority. 

An interesting incident of that Legislature is told by 
ex- Governor Daggett, illustrating the dogmatism of the pro- 
prietors of the Union : 

"It was the custom in early days, at the close of the Legislature, to vote 
double pay to the attaches, have presentations of gifts and much fun generally. 
In a generous mood, the members of the Legislature of the session of January 1, 
1860, of which I was one, included the reporters of the Union, who had made 
caretul reports and had been obliging otherwise. They offered a resolution 
appropriating $1,000 from the contingent fund to pay Messrs. Cutter and Sumner 
for their services. This measure was bitterly opposed by the Union proprietors^ 
They were proud spirited and resisted the action ; said that the State had no 
right to do it , that it was not proper for the Legislature to pay men they em- 
ployed. The resolution failed to pass the first day for the reason that the con- 
tingent fund was exhausted, but the matter was then taken up, owing to the 
bitterness of the opposition, money placed in the fund, the motion reconsidered 
and pa&sed. The Governor pocketed the bill, but Banker Mills discounted it, 
so that Cutter and Sumner finally got a part of the amount voted them. But out 
of this bitterness on the part of the Union came a hardship to themselves. 
Resenting this personal interference, the reporters resigned from the stafi" of the 
Union, other men could not be obtained to fill their places in time, and so that 
year, 1860, there were no reports made by the Unioji on the Presidential election. 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 8 1 

Dogmatism and arrogance, even in a good cause, cannot fail 
to arouse opposition. The power of the Union was felt through- 
out the State body politic, and out of its strength came its weak- 
ness. Some of the measures which it carried through were 
considered despotic, and many were the Davids who attempted 
to fell this Goliah of newspapers. The opposition paper to sur- 
vive was the Sacramento Record. It was first issued in 1867. The 
regular Republicans and friends of George. C. Gorham, whom the 
Union defeated for Governor, rallied to its support, and in the 
Presidential campaign of 1868 the Record became a power in 
Northern California. ' ' Any power in preference to the old 
power ' ' seemed to be the will of the people, and so began the 
battle of forces. 

There has been much said, pro and con, regarding the final 
end of the Union in February, 1875, and the cause of the trans- 
ferrence and mergence of the good old stand-by into the Record- 
Unio7i. It is a pretty little piece of history to handle, needing a 
keenly-pointed pen, and a laying open of an old wound to find 
the bullet contained therein. 

In a clever exposition of the case, General John F. Sheehan 
says : 

" The JJnion died a natural death, destroyed by the inevitable laws of 
business and the stubborn pride of its proprietors. The railroad, while creating 
a transportation monopoly, destroyed a newspaper monopoly. For by competi- 
tion with the Bay papers, in a day the great profits of the "Union disappeared 
Had they brought their paper to San Francisco, no newspaper man doubts that 
the Union would be the great paper of California to-day. But the old men 
jareferred to die in the last ditch. 

In Other words '' the common people'' for whom they builded 
in the days of their prosperity, as is the custom with '' commo?i 
people,'' deserted them in the hour of their adversity. 

We may talk of supply and demand and those mysteries of 
political economy, known as competition aud monopoly, all we 
like. The words sound well, but the fact remains that these 
men never wavered, with ruin staring them in the face, but con- 
tinued consistent and stayed as one man at the post of duty on 
the burning steamer — in Western parlance, 

" Holding her nozzle agin the bank, 
For the last galoot to git ashore." 



82 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

But did the common people care ? Did the common people 
remember the pilot who had led them safely through the dangers 
of a past night and a dark and gloomy day ? They admired the 
pluck and the grit and the determination of these three men, and 
to this day, and for days to come, they and their children will 
wonder at them, and wonder and wonder — but they deserted them. 
And so, finally, the paper which had brought the partners, 
individually, the grand sum of $200,000 apiece in dividends, as a 
total (according to W. H. Dinsmore of this city, the cashier for 
many years for the firm of James Anthony & Co.), was sold to 
a firm of Sacramento men, who merged it with the rival paper, 
and it became the Record- Union. 

No histor}' of the one partner can be told separately from the 
other two, thej'^ are so intertwined. L,arkin, though in ill health 
at the time, urged the other two to take the paper to San Fran- 
cisco. But they were all three along in years, and Morrill said : 
" That means that we shall have to take off our coats and work 
till one o'clock every night," so the idea was abandoned. Mr. 
Anthony had considerable fortune left, and Mr. Morrill was 
appointed, through the influence of Governor Booth, as surve3'or 
of customs in the port of San Francisco. 

But it would seem that a certain degree of fatality was con- 
nected with so much determination and consecutiveness of purpose 
and relentless warfare, as all the participants — proprietors and 
editors — were involved in, in carrying out their clear-cut inten- 
tions and bold facings of the enemy. For of them all scarce one 
or two are left to tell the story, of whom is E. G. Waite, now 
Secretary of State, and a man of the same caliber as the Union 
proprietors. For Anthon^^ died shortly after the transference of 
the paper, January 6, 1876. H. W. lyarkin followed a few months 
later, and Paul Morrill on May 27, 1880. Paul Morrill was a 
native of New Hampshire — a member of a highly honored famil}' 
— born in 18 12. Personally he was a man of infinite depth of 
human sympathy ; the best friend, husband, father ; liberal to the 
poor — giving without ostentation — and, it an enemy at all, one 
who never carried his enmity to an extreme, tut who was always 
ready to forget and forgive an offense atoned for. In the very 
highest .sense he was a gentleman. Open-handed as he was, he 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 83 

died not rich, though a man of less sterling principles occupying 
his position might have died a millionaire had he chosen. 

Henry C. Watson, one of the editors of the State, celebrated 
for his classical and brilliant writings, passed away in the summer 
of 1867, and Samuel Seabough, whose fame is like a bright light, 
in '84. Lauren Upson, one of the early editors, and Paschal 
Coggins, one of the later, have become wrapped in the Great 
Mystery. 

Of all their "midnight burning of the oil" and consuming 
fire of thought and mighty purpose of the hour remain only an 
old newspaper file that the dust covers over, and a memory- in 
men's hearts, shadowy and obscure. 

But they lived ; they were honest ; they cannot be forgotten. 
Dr. Morse was the first writer and the most distinguished in 
the early period of the history of the Union. He gave it its 
news value and its reputation for strong common sense. He was 
editor from '52 to '57. Then came Upson, who edited the paper 
for twelve years and was the chief editorial manager even after 
Watson took charge. Joseph Winans wrote editorials, and some 
of the most brilliant articles it ever contained were from his pen. 

But the war editorials, as 
directed by the policy of the pro- 
prietors, Morrill, Anthony and 
Larkin, and which gave the Sac- 
ramento Union its greatest glory, 
were mostly written by Henry 
Clay Watson, a finished scholar 
and brilliant writer. 

The special time of facing 
the problem when it was a toss-up 
as to whether California would 
come under the dominance of 
HENRY CLAY WATSON. Southcm Tule or not, was during 

the battles of Malvern Hill, when powerful strokes were being 
dealt by the journal in question to save the State to the Union. 
It is said by old-timers, who remember the effect of these editor- 
ials, " I tell you, Watson was red-hot on McClellan, and that, 
too, before the situation was understood as it is now. ' ' 




84 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

He seems to have had a sort of prophetic instinct or insight 
into " the situation " and a gift of making the proper inferences, 
which are now corroborated by the great historical writers of the 
present regarding that struggle between the North and South. 
This quality in itself bespeaks great power in an editorial writer. 
A great admirer of Watson is William H. Mills, who took charge 
of the Union after its mergence into the Record. In beautiful 
language, but too elusive to capture, he pays tribute to his powers 
in this regard. In a comparison between Watson and Seabough 
(who took Watson's place upon his death in May, 1867), he gives 
expression to the following ideas : 

" Watson's style was finished, distinguished by lucidity — adapted to politi- 
cal, historical and national themes, with a full appreciation of their bearing on 
future events and epochs. In writing of a Pope, for instance, it would all have 
a tendency and bearing toward the efiect upon future Papal rule. It is true that 
Seabough was very effective, presenting a great deal of data in a small space, and 
especially gifted with a full appreciation of current events. But with him the 
great point was the relation of forces and direction of events in the process of 
making contemporaneous power — the politics of the hour that surrounded him. 
All things ephemerous — not destined for to-morrow — belong to the offices of the 
daily newspaper. It is to live in the day that it is issued — the eflect desired is 
produced in the time tn which it lives. In these things was Seabough especially 
gifted, but in writing up the death of a Pope, it would be found to relate only to 
contemporaneous history, and, indeed, with a very little alteration, such as date, 
etc., might be reset to serve for the life of any Pope." 

There are those, however, who will resent this analysis in 
favor of Henry Clay Watson as against the genius of Samuel 
Seabough. For Seabough was a man with a personality vivid 
and strong, and who has, probably, to-day, the greatest fame of 
any of the journalists of the past. An ardent admirer of his is 
George H. Fitch of the Chronicle, who writes of him as follows : 

"Samuel Seabough, in the opinion of many well-qualified critics the ablest 
editorial writer the Pacific Coast has ever seen, came of good New England stock. 
At an early age he removed to the West, and when a boy of 16 he had the good 
fortune to please a rich old planter near St. Louis. This man gave young Sea- 
bough a good education, and, what was equally valuable to him, allowed the youth 
free range in an excellent library. When Seabough left his patron to come to 
California in the early fifties, he was master of English literature as are few 
professors of that branch ; knew the intricacies of English political history as 
well as an Englishman in public life knows it, and also had a good knowledge of 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 



85 



land. He tried raining in Eldorado County but failed. Then he went into 
journalism, and, from a small paper in Placerville, achieved quite a fame with 
the Ban Andreas Independent, which he brouglit to Stockton and established there, 
and then was called to the editorial desk of the Sacramento Union in 18G7, then 
the most influential 2)aper in the State. Seabough established his reputation on 

the Union. When the Union lost its 
independence Seabough transferred his 
allegiance to the San Francisco CAromWe. 
For more than ten years he was leading 
editorial writer on the Chronicle and 
made his influence felt throughout the 
State. He had the rare faculty of re- 
ducing a long argument into half a 
(olumn. His logic wns clear, his style 
iorcible, and when he attacked any 
nhnse he delivered sledge-hammer blows. 
Always a wide reader and endowed with 
a tenacious memory, he accumulated a 
. ^-—i- , w...:, mass of information that made him a 

mj^K^F*^.^ jn^ttM: walking encyclopedia in regard to the 

*^^B^^ "^^3ii toast — its history, politics, natural his- 

tory, curiosities, etc. Much of his infor- 
mation he obtained from miners and 
others, who never considered a visit " to 
the Bay " as complete without a call on Seabough. Much of his best work was 
in the form of Sunday editorials that embodied his experience and observations 
in California. He wrote with great facility, and his M.S. rarely showed a correc- 
tion. His habit was to tilt his chair back, think out a sentence and then put it 
down. He always followed this method, and in a surprisingly short time would 
produce several columns. 

" Like many newspaper men, he was fond of recourse to stimulants when 
«uflering from depression that always follows hard mental work, but though he 
went on " periodicals," he never appeared at the office except when perfectly 
sober, nor was he ever other than dignified and courteous. He was a charming 
conversationalist and one of the best of story tellers. He died in the winter of 
'83-84 — died in harness, as he always wished to die." 




SAMUEL SEABOUGH. 



There were many interesting things about Seabough, not 
the least of which was a half-guessed romance in his past life. 
He had married early, but never mentioned his wife — but the 
little boy, growing to manhood, and occasionally writing a letter 
to his absent and hardly known father, often caused him to break 
through his reserve, and speak. But these confidences were fol- 
lowed by spells of gloominess and refuge in the bitter cup of I^ethe. 



86 CAI.IFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

He always took a kindly interest in the young men about him^ 
giving them good advice in practical matters. Nicholas E. 
White of the present Record- Union of Sacramento, treasures a letter 
received from Seabough in 1868, warning him against striving for 
or accepting a political appointment which had been promised to 
him and which advice he took to heart, abandoning the pursuit 
of the position he was after and returning to Sacramento. " If I 
haven't got rich, I am at least better off financially than if I had 
wasted several years in the Custom House, and I feel I am better 
fitted for the legitimate pursuits of life. I- owe a great deal to 
this letter, and regard it as good advice to all young men." The 
letter reads : 

" Sacramento, October 24, 1868. 

"3/^/ Dear Friend — I received yours of the 23d inst. You will speak of 
" that office " in expectancy, as if you could not get over the idea of taking it. I 
am sorry for this. Without knowing exactly what office you are promised, I 
now venture to say to you that even if you get the very best one in the power of 
General Miller to offer, it will prove an injury to you in the long run. It will 
bring you in no direct compensation in money for the inevitable habits of 
indolence (not to say dissipation, from which I believe you have far above the 
average of exemption) you will contract there; and when you leave you will be 
really far less qualified to earn a living at any regular business than now. 

"No young man at^your age can afford such a waste of time for preparation' 
for future action in life. I have noted a good many of my former friends whO' 
have put themselves to much trouble in securing such appointments, and in no 
single instance has the office obtained failed to work them a serious inconvenience,, 
if not a positive injury. 

" I speak of this matter with a pretty full knowledge of what I am talking 
about. Colonel James informed me once, after he had been Collector for four 
years, that be never made an appointment which resulted in a benefit to the 
appointee, nor ever discharged an incumbent who did not afterward come and 
thank him sincerely for relieving him of a place that was far more in the nature 
of a curse than a blessing. He said they were all dissatisfied, save only those 
who could not do anything else, and had already, of course, run pretty far along 
the descending scale of life. 

" You will probably think it strange that I should take upon myself the 
duty of writing this way to you ; and in truth I should not trouble to do so if 1 
did not like you, and think it worth while to warn you against yielding topper- 
suasions which I am convinced you should resist as firmly as you would bad com- 
pany or intemperance. As a general rule all offices not held directly from and 
directly responsible to the people, are a curse to those who hold them. 

" If you want to work at your business and can't get employment in Saa 
Francisco, come right up here. J s says he has a place for you. Ttis city 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 87 

is becoming an exceedingly lively, pleasant and beautiful place, and I am sure 
that you would better situate yourself with reference to those in part dependent 
upon your exertions, as well as with yourself alone, by coming up here than by 
accepting the best Custom House office General Miller can tender you. In after 
years you will regret the fact, should you now conclude to reject this advice. 
Faithfully and truly your friend, Samuel Seabough." 

Another enthusiastic admirer of this journalist of the past 
is Lauren E. Crane, who writes of him as follows : 

"Seabough was born in Pennsylvania. He lived in Missouri, married 
there (and his grown-up son, I think, is living still), and came to California in 
1850. The mystery of his wife he never would unfold to me, although he once 
began the story. He settled in Calaveras County, was a miner there, also a 
Justice of the Peace, and editor (and typo) of the San Andreas Gazette; was 
afterward editor of the Stockton iri,r/epenrfe7)<, wherein his powerful, incisive and 
thoughtful articles attracted the attention of all California and made Anthony 
and Morrill anxious to secure his services, which they succeeded in doing in the 
middle sixties. 

" For about a year I was his associate editor on the Union, and after that was 
with him in the same capacity on the Post and on the Chronicle. Few men in the 
United States, and none in California, did such constant, unremitting editorial 
writing of the highest and best order as Samuel Seabrough did in the columns of 
the Sacramento Union for nearly a decade of years. He worked while others 
slept, marking and pointing out political dangers, scoring corruption without 
hesitation or fear, and inviting calumny from the lips and pens of those who 
feared and hated the man and his work. 

"He was a trifle more than six feet tall, of splendid physique, dignity of. 
carriage, grave and impressive in demeanor, yet as sympathetic as a child and 
full to overflowing with subtle, humane and generous wit. In his lighter moods 
his hazel eyes were bright and roving in their glances. In his sterner moments 
they appeared the deepest black, and they seemed to retreat into caverns, which 
they illuminated with a steady glare. In the presence of grief or distress he was 
easily swayed to emotion and kind action ; in the face of a threat he was con- 
temptuous, immovable, imperturbable. 

" His knowledge of ancient and modern history and nations was marvellous, 
so much so that he seldom had occasion to pause with pen in hand or to consult 
any other authority than his own retentive memory. Perfunctory writing he 
fairly abhorred, yet the exigencies of his profession sometimes required him to do 
it. On one occasion he remarked to a friend, smiling the while with a sort of 
sad humor, 'I was with the old Alta once for about eight months. During that 
time I wrote only one leader that was fit to appear in an able journal. The pro- 
prietors held an alarmed consultation over it, and suppressed it. I did not repeat 
the experiment.' 

" While he was not in any respect a vain man, he was essentially a proud 
one. Leaving no estate, neither did he leave any debts. He had told me years 



88 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

before that he had laid aside money enough to provide a decent funeral, that it 
was in bank and the bank-book was at the Chronicle office, and had nie promise to 
see him properly buried with these funds, which he never touched, though often 
tempted to do so. When he died I kept my promise — the bills for the funeral 
were paid from the money thus long before dedicated to the purpose. For many 
years there were men who complacently imagined they were voicing their own 
thoughts and uttering their own ideas, when they were really thinking and 
speaking from the inspiration of the pen of Samuel Seabough." 

Among the editorials of Seabough, now to be found in scrap- 
books b}^ those who treasure his writings, are such subjects as 
" Satan in Congress," "A Strangled State," referring to the rail- 
road discrimination against Nevada, "The National Prosperity," 
etc. An extract is taken from a typical leader, which gives an 
excellent idea of his stjde by its vigor, terseness and command of 
epithet, never becoming commonplace : 

THE EXODUS OF STOCK OPERATORS. 

"Som« of the New York papers are borrowing a good deal of trouble on 
California's account. The prophetic soul of Cassandra was not apparently more 
deeply troubled about the fate of Illium than some of our Eastern contemporaries 
liave recently been about San Francisco. What troubles them is the fact that 
some of our heavy stock operators have set up shop in Gotham, and a fair pros- 
pect that others will follow them, leaving this city lonely and forlorn and the 
coast mourning. * * * It is wasting time and space to describe the per- 
sonnel and methods of the stock gambling fraternity. * * * Gambling 
with cai'ds never demoralizes a whole community. Eespecl ability, the church, 
the law condemn it, and people of settled moral principles avoid it. Not so 
with the stock gambling blight, as it sprouted and grew into a full-blown plant, 
here. It stretched the dark shadows of its upas growth all over our society. 
■* * * It has bankrupted its hundreds, thousands, nay, tens of thousands, 
including the great and the small, farmers, mechanics, laborers, house-maids, 
officials, widows and the guardians of orphan children, who were thought to be 
above the suspicion of dishonesty or dishonor, and were so, too, till assailed by 
this Mephistophelian temptation. 

* * * Let them go and in haste. Their capital has never contri- 
buted but to our distress and general poverty. With them will go the spirit of 
gambling, fraud and false policy. Thrift will speedily follow upon the beaten 
roads of frugality and honest work, and we shall, in a year or two, get back some 
of the millions which have been filched from the people by their departing 
cormorants. Their reign is at an end and we are glad of it. Our mines, our lands, 
our hard-fisted population will remain with us, and the State and city will get 
along all the better for its riddance of the stock -gamblers." 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 



89 



Closely connected with the history of the U^iion is the polit- 
ical career of the Hon. Newton Booth, ex-Governor and ex-Sen- 
ator, who represented in these positions the constituency of the 
Union. He was a man of education and much eloquence, with 
a polished and literary style of writing, being connected with the 
Union as early as 1862. He first made his appearance before the 
people of Sacramento and charmed them with a masterly and 
eloquent lecture upon " Swedenborg," still remembered as a 
wonderful occasion. While his 
political career was closely con- 
nected with historical events in 
party strife between the opposing 
factions, yet it is as a literary 
man that he is of interest in this 
connection. Of later years he 
lived very quietly in his home 
in Sacramento. He was a native 
of Salem, Indiana, and died in 
1892, 66 years of age. Butinhis 
writings he speaks out with living 
force to-day — strong, vivid and 
impassioned. From a noble vol- 
ume, Oscar Schuck's " Califor- 
nian Anthology," issued in 1880, 
the following extract is culled: 

" What is our conntry ? Not alone the land and the sea, the lakes, the rivers 
and the mountains and valleys — not alone the people, their customs and laws — 
not alone the memories of the past, the hopes of the future. It is something 
more than all these combined. It is a Divine abstraction. You cannot tell what 
it is— but let your flag rustle above your head and you feel its living presence in 
your heart. * * * Not yet, not yet shall the Republic die. Baptized 
anew, it shall live a thousand years to come, the Colossus of the nations — its feet 
upon the continents, its scepter over the seas — its forehead among the stars." 

Henry George, the now famous author of "Progress and 
Poverty," had a case on the Union at one time, and was always 
recognized by his fellow printers as a bright man, and afterward 
had an opportunity of displaying his ability when he became 
editor of the State Capitol Reporter, before his connection with the 
San Francisco Post. 




NEWTON BOOTH. 



90 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Among the most distinguished contributors were three who 
have since made names for themselves in the Bast. Charles 
Henry Webb, who wrote charmingly under the name of "John 
Paul," and was editor at one time of the Weekly Calif ornian, a 
distinctly literary paper, in the early sixties, was one of them. 
Mark Twain and Noah Brooks have since risen to the dignity of 
authors, whose books are known to fame. 

In the early times of the fifties and the sixties, with Upson 
as editor-in-chief, was William Bausman, assistant editor and local 
writer, from whom much of the very early history of the Union 
has been obtained. Like many of the other Union writers, he has 
been identified since with a number of the San Francisco news- 
papers, being a journalist ever and always, but with a taste for 
verse writing which has caused him to be classed with the " Poets 
of the Pacific." The poem of " The Dead Wife " contains some 
beautiful lines, but " The Christmas Doll " awakens more cheer- 
ful thoughts. 

''Could it be real, with its stately mien 

And flowing robe and wealth of golden hair? 
Its vermeil cheeks and polonaise of green, 
Its waxen arms so beautifully fair? 
And what to her seemed even far more rare — 
From its white neck a string of beads depending, 
And a golden girdle with its laces blending. 

" ' Give me, ' she cried, impatient to caress 

And hold the image to her swelling heart, 
Her face the type of pictured happiness, 
Free from dissimulation, such as art 
Suggests to older actors in a part. 
In Fortune's gifts there dwelt no greater joy 
Than she beheld in this bespangled toy. 

O sacred passion ! If the little child, 

Intuitive, so much of love can show, 
And keep it in her bosom undefiled, 

In after years its tender charm to throw 
With arching splendor, like the heavenly bow. 
Across the chasms of the troubled mind, 
Her destiny will be to bless mankind. — Bausman. 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 



91 





Another writer on the Union, who is known for his verse, is 
Lauren Elliott Crane, a native of New York, who came to Cali- 
fornia in 1853, when a boy. At different times he was employed 

as editorial writer on the San 
Francisco Post and the Chron- 
icle, as well as the Union, 
Among newspaper men he 
ranks as one of marked ability. 
He has also held public posi- 
tions, having been secretary to 
both Governors Booth and 
Pacheco, and having been 
nominated for State Controller 
and Secretary of State upon 
different occasions. He ar- 
ranged and threw open for 
the circulation of books the 
Free Public Library of San 
Francisco. 

Much of his work has 
been done editorially and with- 
LAUREN E. CRANE. out pubUc recognitiou. In 

purely literary efforts he has pleased and gratified many, anony- 
mously, and over adopted signatures. His story of " DickDoone 
— a California Gambler," is one of the best dialect poems ever 
written. His poem of ' ' Juanita ' ' is often republished, the lover' s 
song which it contains being as curious a bit of rhyming as our 
literature affords. The lines rhyme at both ends and in the 
middle — in fact all through — making music out of the words. 
The fact has escaped notice, probably, because there is no paraded 
effort in it. 

THE SONG. 






\ 



/ 



To-night the stars are flowing gold ; 
The light south wind is blowing cold, 

E&ta es mi lucha f 
The bright, bent moon is growing old, 

Escucha ! 



92 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Now, test thy pride, and fearless prove, 
Now blest — my bride — my peerless dove, 

Juanita. 
Come rest beside me here sweet love, 

Eres bendita! 

Through tall and silent trees there seems 
To fall the jiromise of fair dreams. 

Querida ! 
How all the starry white air gleams 

Mi vida! 

What dream, Juanita — fancied bliss — 
Could seem so sweet a trance as this? 

Dulcura, 
Or beam warm as thy glance or kiss ? 

Alma pura ! 

What bliss to hold my fairy prize. 
One kiss ! yon star-gold, wary eyes. 

Que gloria! 
Saw this in far-old Paradise, 

Memoria ! 

But Eden held no face like thine ; 
Nor creed in perfect grace like mine. 

Que pascion ! 
To read thy tender ways divine, 

Es mi adoracion! 

Adieu! I linger here too long; 

For you my fingers sweep too strong 

Que Diosa ! 
Be true to singer and to song ! 

Adios! Hermosa! 

One of the features of the Union was a letter eaoh week from 
San Francisco on social matters by a lady correspondent called 
" Ridinghood." This was rather a new departure, for it was 
before the days of the peaceful invasion of women into the realm 
of man. More from its innovation than aught else, though it 
was bright and interesting, it attracted much attention, and the 
name of" Ridinghood " was a household word among the families 
up in the mining centers of California and Nevada, receiving also 
favorable notice from the New York Tribune and the Springfield 
Republican, 



THE SACRAMENTO UNION. 



93 



It is as " Ridinghcod," her pen name, that Mrs. Mary V. 
Laurence is best known. She has done able work, however, in 
many journalistic fields — Alta, Chronicle, Examiner, Evening 
Bulletin and Argonmii — as well as in her sketches for the old 
Overland on a "Summer With a Countess," relating to Theresa 
Yelverton or Lady Avonmore, "A Mountain Posy," "College 
Charlemagne," and others. She has also traveled in the Bast as 
correspondent for different California journals, and has had, in 
addition to her regular writing for the press for the past twenty- 
five years, the courage and hope to write a novel, as yet unpub- 
lished. 

Amid all the temptations and inducements to write personals 
of a very spicy or acrid nature, she takes pleasure in thinking 
that ' ' she never wrote a line in her life that made a heart ache. ' ' 
Probably the best known to the libraries is her name in connec- 
tion with the collection of the poems by early Californian writers 
known as " Outcroppings." 

She is a native of Indiana, and came to California in the 
early fifties ; the daughter of Col. George B. Tingley of Kentucky, 
a pioneer and wife of Hon. 
James H. Laurence. Mrs. 
Laurence is of a romantic, 
optimistic turn of mind. 

Among those well known in 
their day who acted as editor 
or local writer or ' contributor 
to the Union at different 
periods, were Lauren Upson, 
characterized by "strong, busi- 
ness-like articles, ' ' Joseph 
Winans, Dr. Morse, Paschal 
Coggins, who all belong to the 
"Passed Away," who know 
not, neither do they care, whether their names remain with us or 
not. Others, still among us, are E. G. Waite, Secretary of State, 
Lauren F. Crane, James E- P. Weeks, A. P. Catlin, Capt. J. D. 
Young, James T. Watkins, C. C. Goodwin, and many others, 
some of whom were afterward connected with the Record-Vnion. 




MARY V. LAURKXCE. 



94 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

The following letter received by the IVasp during the initial 
publication of these sketches, is here reprinted : 

' Editors Wasp — 

Gentlemen : In your January number your pictures of Paul Morrill 
and James Anthony brought back from the " newspaporial dust " two familiar 
faces. They are excellent pictures, and if Jim and Paul could see them they 
would say " true to life." I notice you speak of Paschal Coggins as one of the 
later editors. The Union had but three local writers during its lifetime— first, 
Frank Folger ; second, A. S. Smith ; third, Paschal Coggins. It is remarkable 
that while it had a dozen editorial writers, and that all of them are dead, it had 
but three local writers during its existence. I believe T am the only survivor. 
The three publishers and its able corps of editorial writers are on the " other 
side." I am saved to be pestered with a Postoffice. Very respectfully, 

A. S. iSMITH." 




{^EcoHD-oriiori. 

1S6T=18©3. 

PUBIJISHEI?S. EDITOI^S »■^«^ COflTRIBUTORS. 

William F. Mills, John L Sickler, J. F. Sheehan, James J. Keegan, James 
B. McQuillan, Oeorge Frederick Parsons, James F. Bowman, B. B. Redding, E. P. 
Willis, J. A. Woodson, C. F. McGlashan, N. E. White, Isabel Saxon, Kate Healh, 
{pen name of Julia B. Foster), Philip Shirley {pen name of Annie Lake lownsend), 
Sterling {pen name of Ella Sterling Cummins), Eliza Keith, Leila Lindley and many 
others. 

The Sacramento Record was the first opposition paper to the 
old Union which survived. The Record was first issued in Feb- 
ruary, 1867, and soon became a stalwart Republican paper. The 
regular Republicans and friends of George C. Gorham, whom the 
Union defeated for Governor, rallied to its support, and in the 
Presidential campaign of 1868, it became a power in Northern 
California. This paper was conducted for five years by John F. 
Sickler, J. F. Sheehan and James J. Keegan. In 1872 W. H. 
Mills secured control of the paper, and later on it was con- 
solidated with the Union and is now known as the Record- Union. 

When, in 1875, the Record-Uiion passed into the hands of 
William H. Mills, he was a young man endowed with tireless 
energy and a tendency toward the analytical in writing. But it 
is not so much in what he has written that Mr. Mills excels. 
His gift is in speaking English as few men do — even his ordinary 
conversation sparkles with epigram, metaphor, delicate and acute 
analysis and curious collocations of words -new, fresh and vivid. 
It is impossible for the writer to find anything of his in print 
equal to the unconscious eloquence which ordinarily slips into his 
conversational monologues. And anything else would not 
properly represent the bent of mind or literary style peculiar to 
Mr. Mills, tvhose part in life has been to give ideas and inspire 
other writers upon all themes — practical, poetical and timely — 



96 CAIvIPORNIAN WRITERS AND LITKRATURE. 

from the fertility of his own brain. He retired from the Record- 
Union to take the position of land agent of the Southern Pacific 
Railroad, left vacant by the death of B. B. Redding in 1882 ; 
but up to the present he is still engaged upon writings of a more 
or less practical nature or scientific value, and meanwhile dis- 
penses his very best thoughts to those who come to him for 
literary assistance. Many an attractive article which appears in 
public print has been inspired by Mr. Mills, without even quota- 
tion marks in the proper places. 

In answer to the question, why editors discourage young 
writers from indulging in figures of speech, Mr. Mills responds as 
follows : 

" It is because the ornate is more liable to abuse than the sober; ornament 
construction and do not construct ornamentation. A house must have walls. 
Simplicity of construction would be four walls with partitions. Angles are made 
for the purpose of relieving monotony — clouds break up the monotony of the 
sky. The stars give brilliancy, light and ornamentation to the midnight firma- 
ment. It is night that gives light and joy to day. Thought intensifies emotion ; 
the emotion which comes from intensity of thought is true emotion. Emotion 
unsupported by thought is merely the wings without the bird, the soul without 
the personality, spirit that was not evolved from matter. The earth must have 
warmth, but not melting fervor. There is a grandeur in eloquence when it 
lifts the mind to a lofty summit, but the summit on which it stands must be 
somber and substantial. The difference between thoughtful work and merely 
poetic fancy is the difference between a tire in the house and a house on fire." 

As in the case with the successful dail}^ paper of a town or 
city, as was the Record- Union in Sacramento under these encourag- 
ing influences, many bright minds chistered around it, producing 
a certain kind of literature peculiar to itself. 

Of the writers on the Record- Unio?i one, George Frederick 
Parsons, has since achieved fame in the East. He is chiefly 
remembered as having a special gift for metaphysics, quite 
bewildering Sacramentans with a series of wonderful articles on a 
new system of religious belief, entitled "Theosophy," almost 
before it was heard of in this country. He was a gifted writer 
outside of this field, however, and, since his connection with the 
New York Tribune, has edited many translations in addition to 
his editorial work, notably writing introditctions of a high order 
to the novels of Balzac, as presented in America. His name 



THE SACRAMENTO RECORD-UNION. 



97 



appears where few of our Californian writers are allowed to enter, 
and that is in the "American Author's Enc5'clopedia," as pub- 
lished by Edmund Clarence Stedman. Mr. Parsons is specially 
remarkable for his handwriting, specimens of which are prized 
highly by autograph hunters. It is almost microscopic in fine- 
ness, and yet legible. In 1871 that prince of Bohemians, the late 
James F. Bowman, was associated with Parsons on the Record, 
and has since left an indelible impression by his exquisite poems, 
some of which have been boldly though not successfully appro- 
priated by literary purloiners. 

Although brought up in a newspaper office, John F. Sheehan 
says he makes no claim to literary talent. He has been a work- 
ing journalist and manager rather than a writer. He was citj' 
editor of the original Record, afterward had a controlling interest 
in the Bee, and then became 
owner and managing editor 
of the San Francisco Even- 
ing Post. It is rather a 
matter of pride with him 
that he worked side by side 
with Henry George upon 
the old Unioyi in 1864. Mr. 
Sheehan has the keen in- 
sight of the journalist who 
is also a politician, and has 
a thousand reminiscences to 
tell of the battles of forces 
that have taken place in the 
political warfare of Cali- 
fornia. Being also a veteran 
member of the Grand Army 
of the Republic and a mem- 
ber of the Bohemian and Union I^eague clubs, he is a representa- 
tive man in other lines as well as journalism. 

Among the noted writers emplo3'ed on the Record was James 
B. McQuillan, who was a native of Washington, D. C. He was 
a forcible political writer, but like many who preceded, and like 
many who have come after, he indulged in too much geniality, 




JOHN F. SHEEHAN. 



98 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

which led him to an early grave. John F. Sickler has passed 
away, and Keegan is now secretary of the Board of State Harbor 
Commissioners, while John F. Sheehan is Registrar of the United 
States Land Office. 

No better descriptive articles have been written for an}' Cali- 
fornia n journal than those written under the encouragement of 
W. H. Mills for the Record- Unio7i by C. F. McGlashan. He is 
well known in connection with the Truckee Republican, with 
which he has been connected more or less for the past fifteen 
years; and also for the remarkable correspondence contributed to 
the Record-Union on the Mountain Meadows massacre and other 
historical chapters of our past, in which he obtained his informa- 
tion by almost detective work among the Mormons, securing his 

facts at fi^rst hand. As a result 
of his discoveries, thus made 
known to the government au- 
thorities through the columns of 
the Record-Union, an investiga- 
tion was made and the chief in- 
stigator of the Mountain 
Meadows massacre was appre- 
hended and finally, after due 
trial, executed, though so many 
years had elapsed that the 
atrocity was almost forgotten. 
In addition to these articles Mr. 
McGlashan has written a most 

C. F. MCGLASHAN. 

Singular book, one which is 
more celebrated to the outside world than at home. -.It is entitled 
the " History of the Donner Party ; a Tragedy- of the Sierras," 
and was first published in 1879. Six editions have been published 
and sold, with continual increasing demand. The author, Charles 
Fayette McGlashan, was born near Janesville, Wis., August 12, 
1847. He came across the plains when but 7 years of age, and 
early gave evidence of aptitude with the pen. 

Simplicity and earnestness characterize Mr. McGlashan's 
literary style. 'J' he book in question is the most powerful por- 
traiture of the people in the Donner party that has ever been 




THE SACRAMENTO RECORD-UNION. 99 

given, excepting none. In the efforts not to exaggerate the suf- 
ferings and suspicions of that awful experience, there is a certain 
degree of inadequateness of expression that is the height of art, 
and only serves to make more vivid and powerful the impression 
of horror that creeps in while reading page after page. With the 
detective instinct of the reporter the facts were obtained from eye- 
witnesses, most of whom are now dead, so that Mr. McGlashan 
has presented a tale absolutely truthful. The following is a scrap 
from the book, characteristic of the simplicity and earnestness of 
the story : 

"When the June sunshine gladdened the Sacramento Valley, three little 
bare-footed girls walked here and tliere among the houses and tents of iSuttei's 
Fort. They were scantily clothed, and one carried a thin blanket. At night 
they said their prayers, lay down in whatever tent they happened to be, and, 
folding the blanket about them, fell asleep in each other's arms. When they 
were hungry they asked food of whomsoever they met. If any one inquired who 
they were, they answered as their mother had taught them: 'We are the chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Gtorge Donner.' But they added something which they 
had learned since. It was : 'And our parents are dead.' " 

Among the good old stand-bys of the Record- Union are E. P. 
Willis, J. A. Woodson and N. E. White, who have been employed 
variously as reporters, editors and chiefs for the past twenty years. 

Among the names of women wdio have written stories and 
correspondence for the Record-Union are Isabel Saxon, Kate 
Heath (pen name of Julia B. Foster), " Sterling," the pen name 
of Ella Sterling Cummins ; " Philip Shirley," the pen name of 
Annie Lake Townsend ; Eliza Keith, Eeila Lindley and others. 
Some of the stories have been excellent, notably one by Isabel 
Saxon, entitled ''■ Kath." 

Lore. 




THE HESPEHiflN. 

1858—1862. 
EDlTOt^S: 

Mrs. F. H. Day, Rev. and Mrs. J. D. Strong, 

COflTI^ieUTOI^S, 

" Old Block," " Caxton," O. T. Sproat, W. Wadsworth, Frank Sotde, Calvin 
B. McDonald, Anna M. Fitch and others. 

" Like her nice little magazine, Mrs. Day is dead." So says 
Calvin B. McDonald regarding the Hesperia7i, an earnest literary 
periodical which was issued in San Francisco in 1859 by women. 
It was evidently not the first attempt of the kind, for in the 
editorial department there is a gentle little pluming of wings over 
the success of the Hesperian as compared with some periodical of 
the same kind which preceded it. 

" Mrs. Day commenced her career editorial, as we thought, under rather 
unfavorable auspices. It was at a time when California confidence was not 
unbounded in editresses, one of the results of the short and iveek reign of the 
Athenaeum." 

It appears also that the jealousy now existing between lyOS 
Angeles and San Francisco (and which the latter city cannot be 
made to comprehend even to this day) was in full force in 1858. 
A slap at the fogs and winds and the scrub oaks of San Francisco 
is given by a Los Angeles paper in order to show why "the 
tender plants of feminine literature could not be expected to 
flourish in such an atmosphere." 

There are some good prints and sketches given of "Early 
Settlers of California," including George C. Yount of Yountville, 
Thomas O. Larkin, Mrs. T, O. Larkin, Jacob T. Leese, Isaac J. 
Sparks, Peter Lassen and others. 

The contents vary from sublime thoughts upon "Milton" 



THE HESPERIAN. lOI 

to the best method of making muffins and embroidering flannel 
skirts. Some of "Caxton's" sketches appear here — he who 
afterward wrote successful hoax stories and became known under 
his own name, that of W. H. Rhodes. Calvin B. McDonald 
takes up the lance in favor of the women of California, protesting 
against the popular writing of that day in which they were repre- 
sented as lacking in the cardinal virtues of the women of the East. 

" Wliat, if liere and there a woman discouraged, neglected and despairing, 
goes forth under maledictions, thick and unsparing as Arctic hail? Should one 
of the Pleiades, abandoning the bright society of her sisters, fall, rayless, forever, 
down the infinite depths of space, should we the less admire the steadfastness of 
the six remaining Vergilire, that, unspotted in lustre, and in meek obedience to 
the Creator, tread their eternal orbits, sorrowing and unsinning?" 

A curious tale is that by W. Wadsworth on " The Earliest 
Pioneer of All — A Digger Woman of the Olden Time." She is 
described as being two hundred years old, her nearest of kin 
descendant as ninety, and as telling freely of the great river to the 
north — the Columbia — and of the snowy mountains whose ashes 
fell like rain, and of convulsions of nature where rivers were 
driven from their beds by the mountains. But among the mem- 
bers of her tribe who have no knowledge of the land of the north 
from whence .she came, she was given the charming title of the 
" Old Lying Mother." 

As a whole, there is much more local color in the Hesperian 
than in any of the other earlj- magazines. 







LURITERS OF THE SflGEBI^USH SCHOOli. 

ISoS -1S03. 

Joseph T. Goodman, Mark Twain, Fred H. Hart, Henry R. Mighels, Dan 
de QuUle{ Wdltam Wright) Sam Davis, John Franklin Sivi/t, C C. Goodivi^i^ Jnse})h 
IVasson, Boliin M. Daggett and others. 

Sagebrush school ? Why not ? Nothing in all our Western 
literature so distinctly savors of the soil as the characteristic 
books written by the men of Nevada and that interior part of the 
State where the sagebrush grows. 

There is something in that region of high altitudes, grey 
alkali, grey sagebrush, grey rocks, spring freshets and glorious 
sunsets that has always precluded the possibility of taking up the 
pen to write of dukes, duchesses, heather-blooms and Knglish 
uplands, or ot scenes of New England, or anywhere else under 
the sun's shining save of that weird, fascinating, ugl}' land in 
Avhich they dwelled. 

The inspiration of that literary movement began with the 
Virginia Teryito7'ial Enterprise, in the early sixties, under the 
management of Joseph T. Goodman, editor, literateur and poet, 
whose name is embroidered as with a golden thread all over the 
history of our Californian literature. The Enterprise was as a great 
success in its way — twining itself about the hearts of the people 
— as the Sacramento Union. These two journals represent a 
phase in public feeling and occupy a place in public affection that 
can never be repeated in our history. 

The files of the old Enterprise may be found at the Merchants' 
Exchange in this city, on California street, near Montgomery. 
It is rich with vivid picture and stirring editorial, odd stories and 
racy correspondence and delicate poems. Here are to be found 
Mark Twain's lucubrations before he became famous to the rest 
of the world, but was a welcome and familiar jester with cap and 
bells to the people of Nevada. 



WRITPCRvS OF THE SAGEBRUSH SCHOOI.. IO3 

It was during this time that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) 
laid away the experiences and pictures for his inimitable " Rough- 
ing It," which contains some of his cleverest work in the way of 
description. It will be remembered that he was a millionaire for 
ten days in the town of Aurora, Nevada, having, with a friend, 
located a mine, "The Wide West." His friend went off for a 
trip somewhere out of town, and he fell sick, each thinking the 
other could make the proper record of the location in the land- 
office. But the time expired, and as each appeared on the scene 
some ten days after, a horde of hungry miners was found in pos- 
se.ssion of the celebrated mine. Thus fell his hopes, and, instead 
of a mining millionaire, a humorist was spared to the world. 
Although no one need fear that he ran any chance of being a 
millionaire over the "Wide West" mine, for the writer, as a 
child, played over the liistoric spot and saw only a shut-down 
mill and desolate hole in the ground to mark the spot where over- 
hopeful men had sunk thousands and thousands that they never 
recovered. It was just the same old fraud that every other mine is. 

But his description of Mono Lake — the Dead Sea of the West, 
a few miles from Aurora, is perfect in detail and picturing. His 
view of the coyote is based on the genuine prowler of those regions 
and you can almost smell the sagebrush and taste the alkali after 
reading " Roughing It." 

In his work upon the Enterprise was a bit of literary criti- 
cism which has passed into a familiar saying, to be handed down 
from father to son and mother to daughter. Upon the death of 
Lincoln many obituary poems sprang into print, among them, one 
which took the fancy of Mark Twain, who set it off thus : 

"Gone, gone, gone, 
Gone to his endeavor; 
Gone, gone, gone. 
Forever and forever." 

" This is a very nice refrain to this little poem. But if there 
is any criticism to make upon it, I should say that there was a 
little too much ' gone ' and not enough ' forever.' " And to this 
day it is used as a case in point relating to a superfluity of any 
kind. 



I04 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

In the correspondence of Joseph T. Goodman from Europe 
to the Enterprise, he gives a pen picture of the throne room of 
the Napoleons and the French kings, where by some strange 
chance he entered and found no one in keeping. He wandered 
about, and, finally, with the coolness that marks the Western 
American, he went up and tried the throne to see how it felt to 
occupy so distinguished a position. Suddenly the officials ap- 
peared on the scene with a procession of courtiers and ladies, and 
the cool man from Nevada was ignominously hustled out of the 
spot sacred to royalty. This story is told from memory, but the 
words of Mr. Goodman upon the situation are remembered dis- 
tinctly : 

" Some people might have felt hurt at such an incident, but I reflected that I 
was not the first man to have been kicked off that throne ; in fact, that I was in 
royal company, and, further, I felt sustained by thinking it was very likely 
that I would not be the last one, either." 

It gives historic point to the story to add that before the year 
was out Mr. Goodman's prophecy was fulfilled, for Louis 
Napoleon entered upon the war with Prussia, and the French 
throne vanished into air. 

One of the typical books of this school is that of the ' ' Sazerac 
Lying Club." This was published by Fred H. Hart, editor of 
the Reese River Reveille, and contains many felicitous scraps and 
yarns from that journal. Humor, grotesque and characteristic, 
play over the pages. Local color is laid on unsparingly, well 
known individuals are here cartooned and immortalized. The 
atmosphere of Nevada, the glory of the sunsets, pictures of the 
mining town and its people, customs and manners, all are here so 
vividly portrayed that it is almost panoramic. To one who has 
ever lived in these climes the volume is a source of unfailing 
amusement. 

"Sagebrush Leaves" is a volume which was published in 
1S79, written by Henry R. Mighels under peculiar circumstances.. 
He was editor and proprietor of the Carson Appeal from 1865,. 
and occupied a position of great influence in the politics of the 
State, being a Republican. 

While often planning to write a book some day, it was not 
until his physician decided that the deadly foe of his life — which 



WRITERS OF THE SAGEBRUSH SCHOOL. 



105 



had reappeared despite the surgeon's knife— could not be removed, 
that he began the work, and then it was as a legacy to his wife 
and children. He maintained this astonishing nerve to the end. 
Just before he passed away he seemed to be relapsing into un- 
consciousness, and his wife, rousing him a little, said : "Do j'ou 
know me, Harry ? ' ' 

He opened his eyes, and, looking up with a smile, replied : 
" I think we have met before." 

In a few moments he was dead. 

The following sketch is contributed by his son, Philip Verrill 
Mighels : 

" Henry Rust Mighels combined the chivalry of a soldier and the talent 
of a pure and simple artist, with a streak of lively humor and a vein of refined 
and sympathetic poetry which always permeated his journalistic utterances. He 
was a true lover of nature, finding in the mere rustle of the trees a sublime 
melody that often soothed him in the endless succession oi days when agony 
made its fatal inroad to his soul. He , 
was born at Norway, Me., November 5, 
1830, and died at Carson, Nev., May 28, 
1879. 

In the war of the rebellion Mr. Mighels 
served in his rank of assistant adjutant- 
general, with rank of captain, with the 
same ardor that characterized everything 
that he undertook. When honorably 
discharged, because of inability longer 
to serve, he laid aside epaulets and a 
well-worn sword for the quieter pursuits 
of a pen, with never a single display of 
what he had done for his country. He 
was bitterly opposed to ostentatious show, 
even of patriotism, and would never 
join the order of the Grand Army of the 
Republic because, he said, so many im- 
postors paraded in its ranks. Whenever 
asked by his children how many rebels he had killed, his invariable answer was: 
' I killed as many of them as they did of me.' At Petersburg, June 16, 1864, 
however, he was severely wounded through both thighs. Mr. Mighels never 
posed as an artist, but his many friends hung his pictures upon their walls 
whenever they got a chance. Once he painted a drop curtain. He enjoyed 
to tell the story that it was valued more for its avoirdupois than its merit 
as a gem of art. He delighted to paint from still life or from nature, and whether 
his subject was his childrens' lead soldiers, strewn about the ruins of dismantled 




HENRY RUST MiC.ili-.l. 



106 CAI.IKOKNIAN WRITICKS AND I.ITKK ATUKIC. 

toy I'^iunon and Imrsted lirei'iai'ko'-s, or the calm nuijosly of iMount Tallac, iiiii- 
rored in the transparent deptlis ol" Lake Tahoe, he worked with tiie same tireless 
enthusiasm Lako Tahoe posseissod a |)iitiires()iio and poetic charm for Mr. 
Mifj;hels, whicli was relleeted in some of liis siibstuinent muses of pen and brush. 

"In his liome life Harry Mi{>hels was hap|)y, hriglit and cheerful always. 
l''nj^M,y:i'(l in "tinkering," in wliieli he deligiited, lie always sang at his work 
While jiaintingin his studio, which he luiilt, he always insisted upon solitude, 
ft'e(pK"ntly calling in his wife, wiioni he regarded as his best critic, to note eHects 
and make suggestions. The hooks that he loveil most — Thoreau, Maeaulay, Kns- 
kin iiud others —still bear the marks of his repeated jierusals, anil indications at 
passages that he most keenly admired. His '"Sagebrush Leaves" is a collection 
of his (pniint addresses to his dearest friends through the columns of (he Appeal. 
It was compiled upon his death bed. He never even saw the i)roof-sheets. 

" Much as Mr. ISIighels dreaded physical pain, he met a painful, lingering 
<leath with marvelous fortitude. To the last his bright smile and llaslies of ready 
wil defied the approaching end. ^\'luMl death claimed him a brave, fearless soul 
went five. He rests as he could have wished — under a green sod, beneath tall, 
vhisiiering poplar trees." 

Theiv is .sweetness, ciispness ami shy Iniiiior in the sketches, 
some of which aie ext[uisitc in their tinting, especially one en- 
titled " INIoniitaiii Lights ami Shadows." 

In i87(> was pnhlishetl the " Big Bouan/.a " by W'ni. W right, 
better known as Dan de Oiiille, one of the most con.scciitive 
writers, year in and out, from the early days to the present time. 

He carried the inannscript East ami it was pnblished by his 
old friend, Mark Twain, and sold by subscription. Po.ssibly this 
excellent introdnction of the book is the reason it is to be found 
in all the libraries. 

The history of the "Big Bonanza" includes an account ot 
the discovery, history and working of the world-renowned Com- 
stock silver-lode of Nevada, and also incidents and adventures, 
iind an exposition of the production of pure silver and copious 
illnstratii)ns of the scenes presented. There is no doubt that this 
is a work of historical value and at the same time a vivid picture 
of that wonderful epoch. It is all jnesented with such siucerit>- 
and simplicity that it makes an interesting story from beginning 
to eiul. 

In the light of the next forty years, over in the Twentieth 
Century, these pages will read more like the portraiture of .some 
strange people of some other star than our own, and eyes not now 



WRITERS OF THK SACEHRUSII SCHOOL. 



107 



in existence will open with wonder over these Indian wars, silver 
discoveries, strange happenings and pictures of the dark under- 
ground world in which the miners lived. It is too soon for us to 
appreciate the exactness and faithfulness with which this story 
has been told. Dan de Quille has an able pen, a correct eye, a 
Incid .style, and in his short stories from time to time, have always 
presented scenes of local color and given them a (piality of sincerity. 

Another writer of considerable fame at home is vSam Davis, 
editor of the Carson Appeal and contributor to sl'vci;i1 i)ublica- 
tions in San Francisco of clever 
short stories. A number of 
these were published in 1.S85 
by the Golden lira Publishing 
Company, and revealed some 
work as fine as a cameo. 

Notably graphic is the 
story of the " Pocket Miner," 
the man who is .sent to the 
Insane A.sylum at Stockton. 
One day, suddenly, he mounts 
a table and begins to sell 
imaginary shares of familiar 
mining-stock, as if in the Stock 
Exchange. All at once at the 
familiar sounds the other 
harmless lunatics cease their wanderings, look up, become inter- 
ested, and then suddenly awaken to their old-time fascination 
and one and all bid against the other for the pos.session of the 
maddening treasure-trove. It is told so deftly and yet in such 
simple style that the picture becomes real and the heart is touched 
and the tears spring for the poor wrecks who have filled the 
asylums because of this awful fascination of the past. 

In this story Mr. Davis achieves the desire of his heart— for 
he prefers to be known as a pathetic writer rather than as a hu- 
morist. For, as he says, "I would rather bring a tear to the eye 
than make the whole world laugh." Among the treasures found 
in the u.sual net cast at Christmas time for Christmas stories by 
the many literary journals for their holiday numbers, the .story 




SAM. DAVIS. 



loS 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



contributed by Mr. Davis for the occasion is generally based on 
some deep feeling that touches the heart. And yet he is consid- 
ered to be a humorist, and is smiled at among the fraternity re- 
garding his claims as a pathetic writer. He unites the two 
qualities, however, and can be jocose or serious and sincere, just 
as he chooses. 

Of all the books written about the sagebrush country, there 
has been none to play such an important part in California poli- 
tics as John Franklin Swift's novel of "Robert Greathouse." 
And none has .so insisted on being preserved to fame, against the 

desire of the author, as this 
one volume— for it is well 
known that Swift endeav- 
ored to call in and destroy 
the copies ; but like all 
such eftbrts, it only resulted 
in giving the novel renewed 
vitality, so that it still lives, 
though the author has 
pa.ssed away. 

Indeed, the story of 
"Robert Greathouse " is 
remarkable for more reasons 
than one. It has a certain 
value in presenting types of 
character, historically cor- 
rect, of that time and place. 
In spite of a certain degree 
of exaggeration that encom- 
passes the entire idea, yet 
the relative distinctions are 
nicely adjusted. Jack Gowd}', the stage-driver, who always re- 
fers to himself as " a gentleman," is the real hero of the book, and 
would be called " a creation " onh- that it is the crystalization of 
the Nevada stage-driver himself, and was merely transferred from 
actual existence into the covers of a book. A similar transference 
is the type drawn under the name of Robert Greathouse, the 
Southerner, who is celebrated for having killed five or six men. 




JOHN FRANKI.IN SWR-T. 



WRITERS OF THE SAGEBRUSH SCHOOL. lOQ 

and yet, whose every word rings out with genuine feeling and 
caustic humor. 

The women of the book are merely types of what men most 
admire — sweetness and refinement of manner. In this later da}' 
we should call them very weak, but that ihey exist there is no 
doubt. There is not a figure in the play of the drama that does 
not bear marks of having been copied from real personages. The 
fact of the matter is, that these characters recognized themselves 
and resented the pictures drawn. This resentment came to be a 
real force years after, when the author, John F. Swift, came up 
for political honors. Chapters from his novel were reprinted and 
quotations used in speeches and open letters against him. And 
this was why, when Swift was consumed with ambitious fires, he 
tried to recall and destroy the book he had written in all the hon- 
esty of his heart in more youthful days — in the youthful days 
when he did not fear to tell the truth. For this book is histori- 
cally true, in the main, and the writer does not fear to say that, 
as a whole, it is more vivid and stirring in its play upon the nobler 
feelings of the heart than any other novel written by a Californian. 

AN EXTRACT. 

" ' Tlie damned redskins have killed me,' he shouted, 'but they did not get 

the woman and her blue-eyed babies this trip, by G d.' 

"Then there was a fall, and the driver was seen stretched in the road in 
front of the coach wlieels. They picked him up and bore him into the station. 
Tlie little blue-ejed girl followed her friend inside and looked in Iiis face. For a 
minute she tliought she taw a smile of recognition dwell for a moment upon the 
weather-beaten visage of the stage-driver, and then all was fixed and vacant. 
* * * The bullets of the Apaches had plunged through his body 
in half a score of places. The rude skill of the backwoodsmen knew no balsam 
that could heal such injuries. Ail the science known to the sons of men could 
not have produced one single pulsation in the brave heart that now was stilled. 
The number of gentlemen in the world was reduced by one. Jack Gowdy was 
dead." 

" Going to Jerico " is the title of a volume containing the 
account of Swift's trip to Palestine, which account is very readable 
and enjoyable. John Franklin Swift was known better as a poli- 
tician than an author, and filled many positions of prominence. 
He died in Japan March i6, 1891, while representing the United 



no CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

States as Minister to that country, and was buried with military 
honors in the cemetery of Lone Mountain, San Francisco. 

Well known to journalists and pioneers, but not so well to 
the later generation, is Judge C. C. Goodwin. He was formerly 
connected with Joseph T, Goodman in the Territorial Enterprise 
in Virginia City, but is now, and has been for many years, pro- 
prietor and editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. In this position it 
is said that he has done more than any other one man in success- 
fully combating and limiting the power of the Mormons in Utah. 
Hated and feared by them, yet as a brave man he has never 
quailed when duty and justice pointed the way though his life 
was at stake. Some of his editorials have glistened with epigram 
and then revealed that strange power that brings the tears. Some 
of these have made an indelible impression upon men's minds. 
One of these has come to the writer merely by word of mouth,, 
having passed into histor}-. It was upon the occasion of fighting 
the bill in Congress against polygamy, and a certain editorial 
appeared with the following : 

" The apostles of the Mormon Church still claim and assert that the 
women of Utah are in favor of polygamy — that they believe it ordained of God. 
Against this assertion and claim put this bit of conversation, overheard between 
one Mormon woman and another: 

" ' Brother Taylor has taken a new wife.' 

" ' You don't say — who told you ? ' 

'"No one.' 

" ' How, then, do you know ? ' 

" ' I saw it in the first wi/e^s eyes.' 

" And they both sighed." 

Judge Goodwin has added to the literature of the coast by a 
book entitled "The Comstock Club." Upon the title page 
appears the sentence, " Neither radiant angels nor magnified mon- 
sters^ but just plain, true men,''' which is the key-note to the 
story of seven miners of the Comstock lode who keep house 
together, with Yap Sing for a cook. This is the slender thread 
upon which is hung a number of stories, incidents, bits of humor, 
epigrams and odd experiences. The description of the mirage, 
by one of their number, is a wonderful piece of word-painting, 
and the story of Sister Celeste a pearl upon the string. Through- 



WRITERS OF THE SAGEBRUSH SCHOOL. Ill 

out the entire book the spirit of magnanimit)^ and genuine right 
feeling so prevails that its tone is uplifting and heroic, while, at 
the same time, the spirit of sweet humor so pervades the whole 
that it never becomes sententious or heavy. 

Perhaps the ending of the book is rather anti-climax in its 
impression, amid the solemnity of the burial of the dead miner. 
But as the author has entrusted the thread of the story to women 
at the close, he probably thought it had to be told trivially. 
The cost of the mourning dresses and the fine quality of the 
material and its becomingness to the young lady mourners at the 
funeral, as told by their aunt, strikes rather unpleasantly after all 
the grandeur of the thoughts expressed by the Comstock Club in 
the presence of death. As they are Eastern women, it is all right. 
The author evidently did not care to deviate from the custom of 
the sagebrush writers in depicting the ideal woman as a race 
separate and distinct from man, differentiated solely by her mere 
beauty and weakness of mind. But we all know, we who have 
lived in that land, that there were women there as well as men — 
brave Parthenias of the sagebrush as well as Ingomars — women 
whose charms were not impaired by the fact that they developed 
courage and fortitude and helped to redeem those Ingomars and 
make judges and statesmen of them, even though they remained 
in the shadows of the mighty figures that they themselves exalted. 
Some day there will come a writer bold enough and keen enough 
to portray the lives of both, and then will the true history be 
written. With this exception, Judge Goodwin's book is admir- 
able. Among the stories told by the Comstock Club are several 
of Harry Mighels', which not even repetition can cause to lose 
their flavor and crispness of humor. 

One of the cleverest of our early writers, one whose literary 
work speaks for itself, is Rollin Mallory Daggett, the editor of 
the old Golden Era. He never ceases producing something of 
literary value, articles, poems or volumes, even though he has 
time to stop and play at politics meanwhile. 

He was born at Richville, New York, February 22, 1831. 
Coming to California, when but a boy, he had many strange ex- 
periences, A legend connected with Mr. Daggett's name runs as 
follows : 



112 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

"While crossing tlie plains he found a deserted camp in which the dead 
were lying unlniried, and a cow and two living little children in the midst of 
them. He took pity on them, rigged up a kind of a cart, hitched the cow to it, 
and carried the children with him on his way to California, lie kept the 
children alive upon the milk of the cow until he fell in with a party crossing the 
plains who gave them something to help them along. One morning he found 
the cow dead — but in its place, stiangely convenient, stood a magnificent bull. 
Nothing loth he hitched it to the cart and took his children on to California. 
After many other remarkable experiences he arrived in I'lacerville. They were 
almost without clothing ami penniless. He put his children to bed and went out 
to tiud a purchaser for the bull. With the money in hand he provided the 
things necessary — but when the purchaser went into the stable to lead home his 
tine animal he had vanished into air. The point of the story is that Mr. Daggett 
insists that he does not believe it was a real bull at all, but a mysterious guardian 
of the plains who came to his assistance. The addition is made to the tale that 
the children were soon after shipped back East to relatives who claimed them.'" 

I present this tale merely as a legend which I obtained from 
Joseph T. Goodman, 

Mr. Daggett has alwa^'S been known in connection with Cal- 
ifornian literature. His stories and poems brighten the pages of 
many of the files. His best known volume is entitled " Legends 
and Myths of Hawaii," written while filling the position of Min- 
ister to that interesting little kingdom. His novel, "Braxton's 
Bar," has had a large circulation. As an example of his literary 
style is here presented one of the very best local poems of Cali- 
fornia that has j-et come to light. Notice is particularly drawn 
to the line "And hewed from a mighty ashlar the form of a sov- 
ereign State " : 

MY NEW year's GUESTS. 

[Scene— .1 chamber in \'ir{rinia Cily, one of the pictures on the ivall being the reduced photoffraphs 
of over five hutidred Cdli/ornia pioneers of 1S49. 
Time — Midnight, Bictmber 31, iSSi. 

The winds come cold from the southward, with incecse of tir and pine, 

And the tlying clouds grow darker as they halt and fall in line. 

The valleys that reach the deserts, mountains that greet the clouds, 

Lie bare in the arms of winter, which the prudish night enshrouds. 

The Icatle^s sage on the hillside, the willows low down the stream, 

And the sentry rocks above us, have faded all as a dream. 

The fall of the stamp grows fainter; the voices of night sink low; 

And, spelled from labor, the miner toils home through the drifting snow. 

As I sit alone in my chamber this last of the dying year, 

Dim shades of the past surround me, and faint through the storm I luar 



WRITERS OF THE SAGEBRU.SH SCHOOL. II3 

Old tales of the castles builded, under shelving rock and pine, 

Of the bearded men and stalwart I greeted in forty-nine ; 

The giants with hopes audacious; the giants of iron limb; 

The giants who journeyed westward when the trails were new and dim ; 

The giants who felled the forests, made pathways o'er the snows. 

And planted the vine and fig tree where the manzanita grows; 

Who swept down the mountain gorges, and painted their endless night 

With their cabins, rudely fashioned, and their camp-iires' ruddy light; 

Wlio builded great towns and cities, who swung back the Golden Gate, 

And hewed from the mighty ashlar the form of a sovereign State ; 

Who came like a flood of waters to a thirsty desert plain. 

And where there had been no reapers grew valleys of golden grain. 

Nor wonder that this strange music sweeps in from the silent past. 
And comes with the storm this evening, and blends its strains with the blast 
Nor wonder that through the darkness should enter a spectral throng, 
And gather around my table with the old-time smile and song; 

For there on the wall before me, in a frame of gilt and brown. 
With a chain of years suspended, old faces are looking down ; 
Five hundred all grouped together — five hundred old pioneers — 
Now list as I raise the taper and trace the steps of the years: 

Behold this face near the center; we met ere his locks were gray; 
His purse like his heart was open; he struggles for bread today. 

To this one the fates were cruel ; but he bore his burden well, 
And the willow bends in sorrow by the wayside where he fell. 

Great losses and grief crazed this one; great riches turned this one's head; 
And a faithless wife wrecked this one — he lives, but were better dead. 

Now closer the light on this face; 'twas wrinkled when we were young; 
His torch drew our footsteps westward; his name is on every tongue. 

Rich was he in lands and kindness, but the human deluge came 
And left him at last with nothing but death and a deathless fame. 

'Twas a kindly hand that grouped them — these faces of other years — 
The rich and the poor together — the hopes, and the smiles, and the tears 
Of some of the fearless hundreds, who went like the knights of old. 
The banner of empire bearing to the land of blue and gold. 

For years have I watched these shadows, as others I know have done; 
As death touched their lips with silence, I have draped them one by one, 
Till, seen where the dark-plumed Angel has mingled them here and there. 
The brows I have flecked with sable the living cloud everywhere. 



114 CAIJFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Darker anil darker and darker these sliadows will yearly grow, 
As, chaiiKinj;;, the seasons bring us the bud and the falling snow ; 
And soon — lot luo not invoke it! — the final prayer will be said, 
And strangirs will write the record: "The las' of the group is dead." 

And then — hut why stand bore gazing? A gathering storm in my eyes 
Is mocking the weeping tempest that billows the midnight skies; 
And, stranger still — is it fancy? — are my senses dazed and weak? — 
The shadowy lips are moving as if they would ojie and s})eak ; 
And 1 seem to hear low whispers, and cati-ii the eolio of strains 
That ro3ie from the golden gulches and followed tiie moving trains. 

The scent of the sage and desert, the path o'er the rocky height, 
The shallow graves by the roadside — all, all liave come back to-night; 
And the mildewed years, like stubble, I trample under my feet, 
And drink again at the fountain when the wine of life was sweet; 

And 1 stand once more exalted whore the white pine frets the skies, 
And droim in the winding canyon whore early tiie twilight dies. 
Now tlu^ eyes look down in sadness. The pulse of the year beats low; 
Tiie storm has been awed to silence; the mulUed hands of the snow, 
Ivike tlio noiseless feet of mourners, are spreading a pallid siuH^t 
O'er the breast of dead IHvember and glazing the shroud with sleet. 

Hark! the bolls are cliiming midnigiit ; tl\o storm bends its list'ning oar. 
While the moon looks through the cloud-rifts and blesses the now-born year. 

And now the faces arc smiling. What augury can it be? 

No matter; the hours in passing will fashion tlie years for me. 

Bar closely the curtained windows; shut the light from every pane. 

While, free from the world's intrusion and curious eyes profane, 

I take from its leathern casket, a dinted old cup of tin, 

^lore precious to nie than silver, and blessing the draught within, 

1 drink alone in silence to the l^uilders of the West — 

" liOng life to the hearts still boating, and peace to the hoaris at rest." 

— iv. M. Daggett. 

Joseph Wasson's great work has been in the establishing of 
the State Mining and Mineral Bureau of San Francisco while in 
the Legislature from Mono County. In recognition of his great 
services a handsome oil-painting hangs in the place of honor in 
that department, and it is as "Father of the Mining Bureau" 
that he will be known to posterity. But it is as a journalist that 
be is best known to the people who are now passing away. 



WRITICKS OK THK SAflKHKUSH SCHOOL. 



"5 



He was born in Worcester, O., coming to California when 
but 19 years of age. He was a printer by trade, and was always 
connected with some journal as editor or proprietor, in Nevada 
and Arizona, founding the Winneniucca Ar^rti/ and the Arizona 
Citizen. After the seventies he went to Kurope several times and 
became a special correspondent for many papers East and West. 
He was in the Custer war and corresponded for the vSan Francisco 
Chronicle. I'^orney, editor of the Philadelphia Press, wrote of 
Joseph Wasson that he was one of the best new.spaper correspond- 
ents he had ever known. Among other things he studied u]) 
Creole life in Louisiana for the New York ]>apers. He then 
returned to Mono County, Cal., and was sent to the Legislature, 
where he passed the bill referred to. Afterward, being in ill- 
health, he was offered and accepted the position of Consul to 
Mexico, and a year or so after, 
died in April, 1883, at vSan Hlas. 
He was a man of the oddest 
mixture of qualities, being quiet 
and yet full of dry humor, being 
cynical and yet full of good- 
heartedness at the same time. 
A quaint kind of crisp humor 
pervaded all his writings, a few 
brief extracts being given, 
merely as indicative of his style : 

" Tliere never was on tlie fact; of llic 
earth so much salvation and ho little 
soap in one place hh at Rome." 

"Wiien coming up the river Lee, 
from (iiieenstown to Cork, I thougiit 
I would lik(! to buy up the whole (ioun- 
try, Hcnd the p(!oplo to America to \\c\\) 
out the Democratic tickel, and live on the Kmerald Isle forever." 

As this form of the volume goes to press the announcement 
is made of the suspension of the old Territorial Enterprise. 
Founded in 1858, it continued in exi.stence until January, 1893. 
In the colmnns of the San Franci.sco Examiner appears a timely 
symposium on the su1)ject, including personal sketches from Dan 
De Quille, Rollin M. Dagget, Sam Davis and others. Nothing 




Wvn-^' 



JOSKPn WASSON. 



Il6 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITKRATURE. 

can be better as a picture of the old Enterprise than the part con- 
tributed by Arthur McEwen, which is here quoted : 

IN THE HEROIC DAYS. 



ARTHUR MCEWEN PAIXTS THE COMSTOCK WHEN THE "ENTERPRISE" WAS YOUNG. 

"The life of the Comstock in the old days never has been written so that 
those who did not share it can understand ; it never can be so written, for to be 
like all would have to be set down, and that's a feat beyond mortal pen. Many 
have tried, and all have failed. Mark Twain has come nearest the reality — not 
so much in what he has told, but in the spirit of his work. It was there that 
Mark got his point of view — that shrewd, graceless, good-humored, cynical way 
of looking at things as they in fact are — unbuUied by authority and indifferent 
to traditions — which has made the world laugh. 

" You have lieard a stranger telling a story to friends of his who were 
strangers to you of some drunken freak of a person known to them, and wondered 
why they roared. To you the story was simply that .of a blackguard performance, 
eccentric, perhaps, but shameful. But you see these strangers were in possession 
of knowledge of the drunkard's sober, decorous life, and that served as a back- 
ground against which the inebriate folly showed grotesquely and made mirth 
irresistible. 

" I think the illustration helps to explain why only a Comstocker can 
thoroughly understand and enjoy stories about the Comstock. 

" There was a deal of drinking in Virginia when the Enterpri'ie and the 
town were new, but it wasn't all drinking. Some of the brightest men of the 
country were working as well as having fun there. Lawyers, I understand, admit 
that the bar was about the brainiest ever gathered together in one town of the 
size, or ten times the size. Adventurers, with keen wits and empty pockets, were 
drawn there as naturally as gamblers seek a faro room. Rolling stones of every 
kind obeyed the moral law of gravitation by rolling up Mount Davidson. It was 
a city of men. If any of them were poor, that troubled them not at all, for they 
expected to be rich next week, and had good ground for the expectation. Those 
who were rich had so recently been poor that they had not forgotten it, and the 
circumstance was not so unusual as to be deemed a title to others' deference. 
Everybody was rated for what he was, not for what he had. There were no 
classes, only individuals. Pretension was out of order. Not to be a man of 
sense, frank, free-handed and without prejudices, was to find one's self a second 
or third grader. The men most distinguished for ability were the best fellows, 
the heartiest roysterers, the most democratic. Money was no object. There were 
oceans of it underground. Writing, years later, when a proportion of the lucky 
had set up their carriages and become respectable, Henry Mighels — that man of 
talent, whose life was wasted on the frontier — said, in his " Sagebrush Leaves " : 

" 'Somehow we are all of us too well known to one another — we fortune 
hunters and soldiers of fortune of the earlier days — to be safe is the assumption 
of any very superior virtues. It is not so many years since we were strangers to 
all banks and bank accounts, all the pretentiousness and all the glamour of 



WRITERS OF THE SAGEBRUSH SCHOOL II7 

"society," all the assumptions and requirements of polished intercourse; it is 
only too well within the memory of your castaway when he was the open-handed 
Robin Goodfellow, and the now more fortunate Sir Kassimere Broadcloth served 
him his bacon and potatoes, and was not too high-spirited to render him the 
nimble obsequiousness of his very humble servant — though the sycophancy never 
was asked. We are all of the same household, as it were, and are known to one 
another for what we are worth, and stand upon our merits and not our pretensions. 
Moreover, your " flint mill" is not without its value as a school. It has great 
virtue in that it shakes the snob out of a man and makes the manners of tlie 
parvenu sit awkwardly upon him.' 

" Hut if any one had the native disposition to be a snob while the Com- 
stock was roaring in its fiery young vigor he took care not to show it. That was 
no time for airs ; there was no one who would stand them, no one who wasn't as 
good as his neighbor and had his right acknowledged. It was a republic in 
which the ablest were first. If a man lost his money he set about making more 
in the stock market. Between times he attended to whatever other business he 
might have, played poker and things and joined any other of the boys who were 
having a good time in their simple, sinful way. 

"Of this life of audacious gayety and gambling the Enterprise was the 
mirror, and a participant. It was a Comstocker to the backbone. Money poured 
into its safe, and the owners of that safe were gentlemen who knew how to spend 
its contents for their own delectation and the good of the town. Joseph T. Good- 
man, the principal proprietor and controlling editor, was a young man of distinct 
gifts. A i)oet of imagination, a scholar, a dramatic critic, a ])laywright and a 
writer of leaders that had the charm of entire freedom from every restriction 
save his own judgment of what ought not to be said. Everything from his pen 
possessed the literary (piality. Original, forcible, confident, mocking and alive 
with the impulses of an abounding and generous youth, the Enterprise was to 
Goodman a safety-valve for his ideas rather than a daily burden of responsibility- 
He hired RoUin M. Daggett to do the editorial drudgery — Daggett, famous then 
for scissors and seven-up, and since Congressman and Minister to Hawaii. To 
Daggett was left the solemn duty of writing or stealing the necessary, the per- 
functory editorials, while Editor Goodman was off criticising the show, and 
banqueting the actors afterward, or constructing a poem, or sharing in the easy 
converse of the Washoe Club. But if Editor (ioodman became seized of an idea 
that needed expression, if somebody must be roasted, a corru[)t judge driven 
from the bench, the Republican party ordered to adopt or abandon a policy, 
Editor Goodman attended to the agreeable function himself. There never has 
been a paper like the Enterprise on the Coast since and never can be again — never 
one so entirely human, so completely the reflex of a splendid personality and a 
mining camp's buoyant life. 

"An unknown nobody of a miner over at Aurora sent in items occasion- 
ally. He had humor in him, and Goodman offered him a salary to come over 
and assist Dan de Quille as a reporter. He came. It was Clemens — Mark Twain. 
"Than Goodman and Twain no men could be more unlike outwardly. 
The first was handsome, gallant, self-reliant, but not self-conscious, vehement of 



Il8 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

speecli aiul swift in net ion. (He called out the silver-tongued Tom Fitch, tlien 
an editor, and sliattered his knee with a pistol ball, for instance, in return for an 
unpleasant article that appeared in the course of a controversy.) Clemens was 
sloth-like in movement, had an intolerable drawl, and [)unished those who 
ollended him by long-drawn sneering speech. But the two were alike at bottom 
in one thing — both were genuine, and had the quality of brain that enables one 
man to understand another of opposite temperament and manner. They soon 
became friends. 

"Not many peo{)le liked ^lark Twain, if one may judge by the tone of 
deprecation in which he is spoken of on the C'omstock to this day. But go to 
any small place from whicli a celebrated man has sprung and the same phenome- 
non appears. It is the villager's way of impressing upon the stranger the villa- 
ger's superior, intimate knowledge of the great man. They say that Mark was 
mean — that he would join in revels and not pay his share, and so on. Those who 
knew him well, who had the requisite intelligence to be more than surface com- 
panions, tell a diflerent story. His salary was not large, and he sent a good part 
of it back to Missouri, where it was needed, instead of "spending it like a man" 
on his own pleasures. In brief, Mr. Clemens, while he enjoyed the rough-and- 
tumble, devil-may-care Comstock life, wasn't carried away by it. He knew there 
was a worlil outside. The tirst work that showed the stufi' of which he was made 
was done on the Jvnitrprise. 

"The local department of the Enterprise, for which Mark Twain and Dan 
de Quille were responsible, was as unlike the local department of a city news- 
paper of the present as the town and time were unlike the San Francisco of 
to-day. The indifterence to " news" was noble — none the less so because it was so 
blissfully unconscious. Editor ^Mark or Dan would dismiss a niurder with a 
couple of inches, and sit down and till up a column witii a fancy sketch. They 
were about equally good in the sort of invention required for such eflorts, and 
Dan very often did the better work. But the one had reach and ambition; the 
other lived for the moment. Dan de Quille remains still on the old lode, outlast- 
ing the Entei^prise. He is not soured at his fate, and no man has heard him utter 
a word of envy of his more fortunate worker of the past. Indeed, no man ever 
knew Dan de Quille to say or do a mean thing. A bright-minded, sweet-spirited, 
loyal and unatlected old philosopher he, with a love for the lode and a faith in it 
that neither years or disappointment can ijuench. 

" But I didn't set out to write of all the men who made the Fnlerprisc the 
unique paper that it was — a paper with a soul in it. That soul departed when 
in 1874 Mr. Goodman sold it to Senator Sharon and came away to be a Cali- 
forniau, with other than journalistic ambitions. For some years its prestige and 
the talents of Judge doodwin kept it up, but in ISSO he, too, departed, and since 
then the fate of the Enterprise has been the fate of the camp — to dwindle. 

" >sot for what it has been during recent years, but for what it was when 
the paper and they were young does the death of the Enterprise give old Com- 
stockei-s a shock. It revives memories. The belated tragedy brings it home to 
them that thev are growing old — and that's the deuce." — Arthur McEuen. 



OLilVE HflRPEl^. 



Many beautiful things were written by Olive Harper in 
the earlier days of our literature, and floating through the daily 
press they found lodgment in the family scrap-books of Cali- 
fornian homes. When the Argonaut printed a number of poems 
upon the theme " Cleopatra," Olive Harper's lines were included 
among the rest, and her name preserved. But outside of this 
recognition she is little known, and not to be classified otherwise, 
as her writings were scattered hither and yon in the daily press, 
and not to be collected under the head of any one literary journal. 

Who was Olive Harper ? 

One day a little girl came to the office of the Oakland News 
and handed in a maiuiscript to the editor, who happened to be 
Calvin B. McDonald. " My mamma sent it." she explained. 

The editor laid it to one side, thinking it was the usual " not 
available," which was always arriving. But when finally he 
found time to open the bundle, he was surprised. In his own 
words, " It was one of the comicalest things I ever came across." 
He sought out the writer of the article and found her to be Mrs. 
Ellen Gibson, a widow with two little children, and condemned to 
the use of crutches to get about. Straightway he interested the 
proprietors of the A//a in the new writer, and in a little while 
the St. lyouis Globe, and for her letters she was soon receiving $60 
a week. She went to Yd Semite and wrote up the valley with a 
truly poetical spirit. Then the two papers combined and sent her 
to Europe. For three years she traveled everywhere, visiting 
Egypt and Turkey especially, making her way into the harems 
and writing up the scenes in that oriental land for both the 
St. lyOuis Globe and the San Francisco Alta. It is said that her 
sketches became rather lurid — too much so, in fact, for the Alta^ 
who discontinued them after a certain time. 



I20 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

She is said to have returned to San Francisco once since 
then and back to Europe, where, at the Berlin Exposition, she 
met a member of the Turkish legation (a relation of the Sultan) 
and whom she married and with whom she has lived happily 
since. 

She was gifted with imagination to the extreme degree, so 
much so, that it is said it sometimes ran away with her. She 
had richness and warmth of nature, and in spite of her crutches 
was a woman of great attraction. Cleopatra was her favorite 
in all romance and history and she never wearied talking of the 
great queen. But her very best work was that on the Yo Semite, 
from which an extract is given. 

"In Yo Semite Valley, ia the grand old forests near the eternal rocky cliffs_ 
where the thunderous waters of the river fall in everlasting foam, are multitudes 
of brown-coated mocking birds whose sweet voices are lifted up in worship and 
songs of praise, as if they were the clioristers in this vast temple of the handi 
work of God. 

" When the Bridal Veil rushes like a silvery avalanche over the top of 
the granite cliff and plunges headlong into the huge, seething caldron, with a 
reverberation like a tremendous salvo of artillery, making the clifls resound with 
its awful echo, the birds are silent, as though the mighty sound were the response 
of terrific genii to their song of praise. 

" But, as the wind sways the water, like a misty floating veil, silently to 
the other side, then with a wild exultant burst of sweetness never equalled on 
earth, the birds open their tliroats and pour forth such thrilling melody that the 
woods, the very air, the heart and senses, all pulsate in unison with tlie song. 
The soul seems to burst asunder its earthly mould and soar on the grateful song 
to God, the maker, the mighty architect of the wondrous temple. 

" The song is not one, sweet but far away, like angel choirs in the vault of 
heaven, but near you, around you, in your very soul, till you feel as if the birds 
held you enchanted, and you almost lose consciousness in the overpowering 
melody, your heart throbs painfully and you are strung to the highest tension of 
a sublime worship almost insufferable: when with a mighty thundering echo the 
waters strike the cauldron and the song of the birds is hushed again. Thus it goes 
on ever, and has for how long the Creator alone knows. Alternate the thunder of 
the mighty cateract and the melodious paean of the birds." — Olive Harper. 



**CflXTOfl." 

1869. 
SI^HTCH OF Ul. H. J^HODES. 

One of the story writers who has more than a local reputa- 
tion, and yet cannot be classified under the heading of any 
especially literary journal or magazine, is W. H. Rhodes, who 
wrote under the pen name of "Caxton." For some reason or 
other it is said that Bret Harte barred his way to the Overland, 
as he is reported to have done with the poet Sill ; but, nevertheless, 
Rhodes' stories appeared in print 
through the medium of the daily 
papers and achieved instant 
recognition. 

Seldom has a single short story 
caused so great a sensation in 
California as that entitled "The 
Case of Summerfield," which ap- 
peared in 187 1 in a San Fran- 
cisco daily, and was afterward 
discovered to be a hoax tale by 
William H. Rhodes, an attorney- 
at-law of that city. People were 
stirred and aroused by the dan- 
gers which it seemed to proclaim 
as possible, and it became the 
topic of the hour. To this day 
this tale is cited in the experiments in chemistry classes as utiliz- 
ing for a dramatic purpose the curious fact that by the use of 
potassium, water may be set on fire, and how, in the tale, the 
ocean was to be the scene of a grand conflagration, and thereby 
the entire earth was to be destroyed. I remember distinctly that 
when the story appeared there was an ill-defined uneasiness 




WILLIAM H. RHODES. 



122 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITERATURE 

throughout the community lest there should be some truth in the 
matter, and all agreed that under the circumstances if a man 
meditated such a scheme that it was just as well to put him out 
of the way quietly, as the author of the story confessed he had 
done, by pushing him off a train while crossing a trestlework 
bridge. It seemed to meet every one's approval. 

Several years after, in the Evejiing Post, appeared another 
contribution from " Caxton " entitled "The Telescopic Kye," 
which also made a great impression. Most vivid of all, however, 
in horror, was the tale of "John Pollexfen." This gentleman 
was a photographer who had a playful little habit of experiment- 
ing with living eyes for the purpose of discovering a certain kind 
of lens to be used in his photography. His cat, his dog and his 
parrot and other pet animals each had an eye missing in order to 
contribute to this passion of his, and finally his young lady assist- 
ant parted with one of her bright orbs for the price of $7,000, in 
order that the money might help her lover to success. And when 
her lover made the terrible discovery, he nobly went, like the man 
he was, and yielded up one of his eyes also to the only too willing 
photographer, that there might be perfect equality between them, 
and she no longer refused to marry him. 

William Henry Rhodes was an attorney-at-law by profession 
but gifted with a singular fancy and imagination that no briefs 
nor legal papers could make weary or less light of wing. He 
was born in South Carolina and educated at Princeton College, 
and afterward passed through Harvard Law School, in 1850 
coming to California. 

After his death in 1875, his widow published a volume of his 
stories and poems under the title of " Caxton' s Book," containing 
also sketches by Daniel O' Council and W. H. I,. Barnes. Of 
him the latter says : 

"He will long be remembered by his contemporaries at the Bar of Cali- 
fornia as a man of rare genius, exemplary habits, high honor and gentle manners, 
with wit and humor unexcelled. His writings are illumined by a powerful 
fancy, scientific knowledge and a reasoning power which gave to his most weird 
imaginations the similitude of truth and the apparel of facts. These writings, 
however, cannot do justice to the gifts of his mind. They are only the faint 
echo, the unfulfilled promise of what might have been." 



THE IflCOmPfll^flBliE THt^EE. 



1858-1893. 



"The Incomparable Three?" Certainly. There are no 
writers, whose careers have begun in Cahfornia, who can approach 
Bret Harte, Mark Twain and Joaquin Miller for genuine literary 
skill, which has been so universally acknowledged. While we 
have had many writers who in a single poem or story or work may 
have equalled them, yet for consecutiveness, variety and quantity 
as well as quality of material produced, they stand unapproached. 
Regarding the popularity of the three with the reading pub- 
lic, it is the record of the libraries that the works of Mark Twain 
are the most called for. This is not surprising, for the humorist, 
like the name of Ben Adhem, who loved his fellow-man, must, 
perforce, lead all the rest — this being a world where we must 
borrow our fun. But Samuel Clemens, rarely known by his real 

name, has his hold upon the 
public not alone from the fact 
of being a humorist. He com- 
bines with his fantastic sense 
of caricature, a depth of mean- 
ing that never fails to yield a 
certain amount of genuine in- 
formation to the reader. His 
discourse on the difficulties 
encountered in learning the 
German language, while ap- 
parently an absurd disquisi- 
tion, is in reality an excellent 
study for any one interested in 
that language. This is from 
the fact that it is in the main 




MARK TWAIN. 



124 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

true. Ev'er3^thing he writes is historically correct. He never 
spares himself in building a substantial foundation upon which 
to base his aerial edifice with all its fantastic gargoj'les and deco- 
rations. He presents the truth fantastically attired, there is no 
doubt, but we know and feel it is the truth. 

Samuel Clemens is a native of Missouri. His complete 
history is told in detail by his nephew, Will M. Clemens, in a 
volume entitled " The Life of Mark Twain." 

Samuel Clemens' own story of how he entered the war upon 
the Confederate side is one of the most common-sense statements 
regarding the horrors of killing one's fellow-men in warfare, ever 
published. Indeed, the genius of good common-sense distin- 
guishes all that Mark Twain touches or elucidates. He sickened 
of war and came West, still a very young man, and applied his 
analytical faculties to " sizing up " the sagebrush country. This 
story of his personal misadventures has been unsparingh- told by 
himself. He experienced hunger and manifold miseries in San 
Francisco while endeavoring to subsist by his pen, with streaks of 
luck between. One of these was his trip to the Sandwich Islands, 
a place not then so well known as now, and his letters as corres- 
pondent were vivid and sparkling. Upon his return he delivered a 
lecture, the story of which has since become historical. Waggishly 
he engaged a certain coterie to go and hear him and clap at the 
jokes when he gave them the cue. At least, that is his story. But 
at the most solemn part they broke out in guffaws, and, to his 
great surprise, the entire audience joined in and laughed him out 
of countenance from beginning to end. This was the initial part 
of his good fortune which thereafter came to dwell with him. 

His book of sketches entitled "The Jumping Frog of Cala- 
veras " was pleasantly received. But his trip to Europe resulted 
in the book " Innocents Abroad," which not onlj' endeared him 
at home but gave him fame elsewhere. "Roughing It," (re- 
viewed in the literature of the Sagebrush School ) also was well 
received. The creation of the immortal Mulberry Sellers in the 
" Gilded Age " and " The Pilots of the Mississippi " soon fol- 
lowed, and " Tom Sawyer," which was a wonderful commentary 
on the life of a real boy, told by the boy himself. It was a com- 
plete reaction from the goody-goody school of literature for 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. 1 25 

children. Perhaps it was strong meat, but not quite so irreverent 
as " Huckleberry Finn," which many good people resented as a 
book for the young. 

Then came a distinct stepping forward with his charming 
and exquisite "Prince and Pauper" — since dramatized — and, 
later, "A Yankee at King Arthur's Court," which last is declared 
by many of the old Californians to be his very best book. " The 
American Claimant ' ' was run as a serial under the newspaper 
syndicate. 

The business success of Mr. Clemens, not only with his own 
works, but with his publishing house, which has successfully 
placed many of the most notable books of later years, by sub- 
scription, is too well known to require repetition. That genius 
of good common-sense with which he was endowed by the fairies 
as he lay in his cradle, has never failed him. He is not particu- 
larly amiable nor generous personally, but he is endowed with a 
sense of justice, and he knows exactly what he is about. And, 
though he has traveled North and South and taken trips abroad, 
yet he has never returned to the West for so much as a briei 
sojourn. Possibly in this he still shows his good sense. And 
yet he is admired, his writings enjoyed, and more purchased in 
homes and frequently read than almost any other writer — Califor- 
nian or otherwise. There is a loyalty in these old pioneers that 
makes them plank out their five dollars a volume for a new book 
by Mark Twain, where they would not give half a dollar to any 
other author, living or dead. While Samuel Clemens is now in- 
dependent of their good will, yet he should not forget that the 
loyalty of the friends he made in the sagebrush country has 
helped him very materially in his success. 

From the day that a certain unknown compositor in the 
Golden Era office sent in a delicate little sketch on a " Flag 
Raising" in the public square, to the present, the career of 
Francis Bret Harte has been upward and onward. For fineness 
of touch, accuracy of detail and command of English, Bret Harte 
has no superior among English or American literateurs. Every- 
thing he touches he illuminates. 

Nothing is more delicious than the choice of words which he 
applies to convey to the sight and mind some little unfolding of 



126 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



nature. "A brief but ineflfectual radiance" he applies to the 
setting sun, which leaves the earth grey and cold, in the story of 
"An Apostle of the Tules," A thousand felicitous expressions 
might be quoted without doing justice to the effect produced upon 
the mind in coming upon these sparkling jewels in their proper 
setting. And yet this gift is not one that has been developed 
alone with years. It was as much a part of Bret Harte's very 
earliest work as it is to-day. The story or sketch of " M'liss " 
fairly shines with these glints of brightness. 

The tale of Bret Harte's discovery by the world of letters has 
become a part of the history of literature. With the organizing 
of the Overland magazine he found his stepping-stone to fame, 

which history will be told 
in detail in the sketch on 
the "Overland School." It 
is in comparison as a writer 
and man with Mark Twain 
and Joaquin Miller that he 
is here considered. 

Upon leaving the coast 
with such a blaze of glory 
about his head as never will 
fall to the lot of any other 
writer (for the times have 
changed), Bret Harte had 
many curious ups and 
downs. It would seem as 
if prosperity had dazed him, 
for the tale is told and 
FRANCIS BRKT HARTE. vouched for, that though he 

was engaged at the price of $10,000 a year, partly paid in ad- 
vance, in return for which the publishers of the Atlantic were to 
receive all he should write, the tale is told that he absolutely 
gave them not one story in that year's time, nor in return for 
that $10,000. This statement is almost unbelievable, but it has 
been repeated so often that at last people begin to accept it as 
truthful. 

It is said on good authority that Mr. Harte was handicapped 




THE INCOMPARABIvE THREE. 127 

by a jealous spouse— jealous of his fame and jealous of the atten- 
tion he attracted. She was not willing to accept submissively 
the position of being the wife of a genius nor to be absorbed in 
his greater light. Because she had not been included in an invi- 
tation to dinner, or because a carriage had not been sent for her, 
she frequently prevented him from keeping his engagements with 
the social world — once with disastrous results. A check for ten 
thousand dollars, made up by a joint stock company to organize 
a new magazine under Harte's editorship, was lying under his 
plate at a banquet waiting for him, as were also the guests. He 
never came. The company took back its money and dissolved 
into thin air. It is possible that there was some little basis of 
truth under all these legends, and that this was the cause of Bret 
Harte's not doing any literary work of any consequence for the 
first few years after leaving California, and, indeed, until he re- 
ceived the appointment of Consul to Dusseldorf, Germany, and 
afterwards Glasgow, Scotland. 

It is said, however, by a compatriot of Harte's, Gilbert 
Densmore, formerly of the Golden Era, now of the Bulletin for 
many years, and who dramatized Harte's " M'liss " and Twain's 
" Gilded Age," that Harte worked slowly ; that he would look 
at his desk and think it all out, and write a paragraph while 
others were pouring out columns, and then with complimentary 
acknowledgment he adds, ' ' But that paragraph was worth more 
than all our columns." 

In new scenes and surrounded by unfamiliar faces, it is 
possible that Harte lost his adjustment. While his Eastern 
sketches and poems were equally choice and fine, they had not 
the surprise of novelty that his pictures of California presented, 
and he finally returned to the memories that he had laid away, 
like faint ambrotypes of the past, to be retinted and retouched 
for his future work. 

But he has remembered things rather strangely, so Califor- 
nians think. He has a wonderful " Bret-Harte " world of his 
own that he draws on and amplifies and turns and twists to suit 
his literar}^ purpose. If he would only come and sojourn here 
for a year possibly he might get a series of kodaks to lay away 
that would give him an entirely new world to present, much 



128 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND UTERATURE. 

more agreeable, much more faithful than his old supply, which 
never were in quite the right focus. 

Ordinarily, Californians do not like Bret Harte and Bret Harte 
returns the compliment. They do not like the wrong impressions 
that people get abroad from these queer, foreshortened, out-of-focus 
pictures of our land. They resent having the outside world be- 
lieve that California has not changed in forty years— that we are 
still in the days of '49. Women, particularly, are not admirers 
of Bret Harte" s books. These volumes are rarely found upon the 
table or in the library, save of men who admire genius wherever 
found. They are rarely bought save in public libraries, or else 
in the case of people who have outlived their prejudices, and 
then they are prized as works from a master hand. There seems 
to be a feeling that while Bret Harte has an exquisite felicity in 
unfolding and painting — that outside of his literary art in ex- 
pressing himself — that his plots are all wrong. There seems to 
be lack of knowledge as to what rational people really do upon 
certain occasions, an uncouthness and absurdity and unpleasant- 
ness which no one but the people in Bret Harte' s world would 
ever think of doing as a climax to the preceding action. 

There is a sense of disappointment which steals over one in 
reading the latter part of " Gabriel Conroy," which begins with 
so much vigor and fascination. The hero turns out a fool, his 
sister, an improbable weakling, the villain, a nameless nonentity. 
It would seem that he had a grudge against his own characters 
and administered a soothing syrup to reduce them to idiocy as 
promptl)' as possible. Meanwhile the unfolding of nature goes 
on as beautifully and as exquisitely as before, until in the reader 
the sense of taste and the sense of justice are in arms against 
each other. One of his latest stories, " A First Family of Tassa- 
jara," is much more human in plot and rational in action. It 
seems that he is becoming better adjusted to the waj-s of men 
and women. His women are generally clever and beautiful, as 
in this instance, which makes them interesting, but there are few 
heroines he has called into existence who touch the heart or 
cause a thrill of responsive affection, like the character of Thank- 
ful Blossom, which is exceptionally sympathetic. Felicitous, 
however, is the close of his last story to date, "Susy." The 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. 1 29 

hero loves a lady, who, though beautiful and fascinating, is 
much older than himself. She refuses him very gently. The 
next morning he is about to take his departure. 

"He crept down stairs in the gray twilight of the scarce-awakened house 
and made his way to the stables. Saddling his horse and monnting, he paced 
forth into the crisp morning air. The sun, just risen, was everywhere bringing 
out the fresh color of the flower-strewn terraces, as the last night-shadows which 
had hidden them were slowly beaten back. He cast a last look at the brown 
adobe quadrangle of the quiet house, just touched with the bronzing of the sun, 
and then turned his face toward the highway. As he passed the angle of the old 
garden he hesitated, but, strong in his resolution, he put the recollection of last 
night behind him and rode by without raising his eyes. 

"•Clarence!" 

"It was her voice. He wheeled his horse. She was standing behind the 
grille in the wall as he had seen her standing on the day he had ridden to his 
rendezvous with Susy. A Spanish manta was thrown over her head and shoul- 
ders, as if she had dreFsed hastily and had run out to intercept him while he was 
still in the stable. Her beautiful face was pale in its black-hooded recess and 
there were faint circles around her lovely eyes. 

" ' You were going without saying good-by," she said, softly. 

" She passed her slim white hand behind the grating. Clarence leaned to 
the ground, caught it and pressed it to his lips. But he did not let go. 

"'No! No!" she said, struggling to withdraw it. 'It is better as it is 
— as — you have decided it to be. Only I could not let you go thus — without a 
word. There, now — go, Clarence— go ! Please. Don't you see I am behind 
these bars? Think of them as the years that separate us, my poor dear foolish 
boy; think of them as standing between us — growing closer, heavier and more 
cruel and hopeless as the years go on.' 

" They had been good old bars a hundred and fifty years ago, when it was 
thought as necessary to repress the innocence that was behind them as the 
wickedness that was without. They had done duty in the convent at Santa Inez 
and the monastery at Santa Barbara, and had been brought hither in Governor 
Micheltorrena's lime to keep the daughters of Eobles from the insidious contact 
of the outer world when they took the air in that cloistered pleasaunce. Guitars 
had tinkled against them in vain and they had withstood the stress and siege of 
love-shafts. But like many other things that had had their day and time, they 
had retained a semblance of power even while rattling loosely in their sockets, 
only because no one had ever thought of putting them to the test, and that morn- 
ing in the strong hand of Clarence, assisted perhaps by the leaning figure of 
Mrs. Peyton, I grieve to say that the whole grille suddenly collapsed, became a 
string of tinkling iron, and then clanked, bar by bar, into the road. Mrs. Pey- 
ton uttered a little cry and drew bark, and Clarence leaping the ruins caught 
her in his arms. 

"For a moment only, for she quickly withdrew from them, and with the 



130 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

morning sunlight rosy on her cheeks, said gravely, pointing to the dismantled 
opening, ' I suppose you must stay now, for you never could leave me here alone 
and defenseless.'" 

His Style in presenting all these pictures and creations of his 
brain is inimitable and beautiful. Indeed, he is unapproachable 
and stands near the head of the masters of English literature. 
As a poet Bret Harte is equally at home in quaint, humorous or 
delicate sentiment. Whatever he touches he illuminates. 

" He is one of the most popular Americans in London to-day. And 
though it is fifteen years since he left for Europe, he is still a thorough and loyal 
American in every way, even, to speech and mannerism and choice of scenes 
and characters in h's literary work. Being asked by a Britisher why he did not 
write of English life, he gave his answer thus: 'Because I am American and 
know my own country best, and could not depict English characters truthfully.' 

"His 'Luck of Eoaring Camp' has reached a sale of 30,000 volumes. 
The greatest sale for his work is found in Germany and the least in the United 
States. His income from his works is about $15,000." 

In reading the introduction to Bret Harte's complete " Poet- 
ical Works " (lately issued), for the first time do we come face to 
face with the author. For many years has he continued on his 
way, laurel crowned, it is true, but silent, while resting under 
"a cloud of ingenious surmise, theory and misinterpretation." 
In this introduction he makes a statement, manly and dignified 
regarding his literary career and the motives which have actuated 
him. It is the first time he has unfolded himself to the public, 
and, though it is done with straightforwardness and sincerity, j^et 
it is tinctured with a certain reserve born of good taste. 

A quotation from this introduction is here included, that 
Bret Harte may be accorded justice and also as an offset to the 
"theory, surmise and misinterpretation" which may possible- 
prevail upon the other pages. 

" The opportunity here oflered to give some account of the genesis of 
these Californian sketches and the conditions under which they were conceived 
is peculiarly tempting to an author who has been obliged to retain a decent 
professional reticence under a cloud of ingenious surmise, theory and misinter- 
pretation. 

"It might seem hardly necessary to assure an intelligent English audience 
that the idea and invention of these stories was not due to the success of a satir- 
ical poem known as the "Heathen Chinee," or that the author obtained a hear- 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. I3I 

ing for his prose writings through this happy local parable; yet it is within the 
past year that he has had the satisfaction of reading this ingenious theory in a 
literary review of no mean eminence. He very gladly seizes this opportunity to 
establish the chronology of the sketches, and incidentally to show that what are 
considered the "happy incidents" of literature are very apt to be the results of 
•luite logical and prosaic processes." 

He then proceeds to tell of the "Lost Galleon," his first 
volume of poetry, published in 1865, followed by the " Condensed 
Novels ' ' and ' ' Bohemian Papers, ' ' the first volume of prose, ii: 
the year 1867. 

" And during this time, from 1862 to 1866, he produced 'The Society 
Upon the Stanislaus' and 'The Story of M'liss' — the first a dialectical poem, the 
second a Californian romance — his first efforts toward indicating a peculiarly 
characteristic Western American literature. 

" He would like to offer these facts as evidence of his very early, half- 
boyish, but very enthusiastic belief in such, a possibility — a belief which never 
deserted him, and which a [ew years later, from the better known pages of the 
Overland Monthly, he was able to demonstrate to a larger and more cosmopolitan 
audience in the story of 'The Luck of Roaring Camp' and the poem of the 
' Heathen Chinee.' 

"When the first number of the Overland Monthly appeared, the author, 
then its editor, called the publisher's attention to the lack of any distinctive Cali- 
fornian romance in its pages, and averred that, should no other contribution come 
in, he himself would supply the omission in the next number. No other con- 
tribution was offered, and the author, having the plot and general idea already 
in his mind, in a few days sent the manuscript of ' The Luck of Roaring Camp' 
to the printer. 

'' He had not yet received the proof-sheets when he was suddenly sum- 
moned to the office of the publisher, whom he found standing the picture of dis- 
may and anxiety with the proof-sheets before him. The indignation and stupe- 
faction of the author can be well understood when he was told that the printer, 
instead of returning the proofs to him, submitted them to the publisher, with 
the emphatic declaration that the matter thereof was so indecent, irreligious and 
improper that his proof-reader, a young lady, had with difficulty been induced 
to continue its perusal, and that he, as a friend of the publisher and a well- 
wisher of the magazine, was impelled to present to him personally this shame- 
less evidence of the manner in which the editor was imperiling the future of 
that enterprise. It should be premised that the critic was a man of character 
and standing, the head of a large printing establishment, a church member, and, 
the author thinks, a deacon. In which circumstances the publisher frankly 
admitted to the author that, while he could not agree with all the printer's crit- 
icisms, he thought the story open to grave objections and its publication of 
doubtful expediency. 



132 CALIFORNIAX WRITERS AND I.ITERATURK. 

" Believing only that he was the victim of some extraordinary typo- 
graphical blunder, the author at once sat down and read the proof. In its new 
dress, with the metamorphosis of type — that metamorphosis which every writer 
knows, changes his relations to it and makes it no longer seem a part of himself 
— he was able to read it with something of the freshness of an untold tale. As 
he read on he found himself atlected, even as he had been aHocted in the concep- 
tion and writing of it — a feeling so incompatible with the charges against it that 
he could only lay it down and declare emphatically, albeit hopelessly, that he 
could really see nothing objectionable in it. 

"After other tests of its quality, each one decided rather against the 
author, it was finally suggested that a personal sacrifice would at this juncture be 
in the last degree heroic. This had the efl'ect of ending all further discussion. 
The author at once informed the publisher that the question of the propriety of 
the story was no longer at issue ; the onlv question was liis capacity to exercise 
the proper editorial judgment, and that unless he was permitted to test that 
capacity by the publication of the story, and abide squarely by the result, he 
mus* resign his editorial position. 

"Tiii' publisher, possibly struck with the author's confidence, possibly 
from kindlint>ss of disposition to a younger man, yielded, and 'The Luck of 
Roaring Camp ' was published in tlie current number of the magazine for which 
it was written, as it was written, without emendation, omission, alteration or 
apology. A no inconsiderable part of the grotesqueness of the situation was the 
feeling, which the author retained throughout the whole aflair, of the perfect 
sincerity, good faith and seriousness of his friends — of the printer's — objection, 
and for many days thereafter he was haunted by a consideration of the suflerings 
of this conscientious man, obliged to assist in disseminating the dangerous and 
subversive doctrines contained in this baleful fiction. AVhat solemn protests must 
have been laid, with the ink, on the rollers and impressed upon those wicked 
sheets; what pious warnings must have been secretly foUled and stitched in that 
number of the Overland Monthly. Across the chasm of years and distance the 
author stretches forth the hand of sympathj' and forgiveness, not forgetting the 
gentle proof-reader, that chaste and unknown nym]>h, whose mantling cheeksand 
downcast eyes gave the first indications of warning. 

" But the troubles of the ' Luck' were far from ended. It had secured an 
entrance into the world, but, like its own hero, it was born with an evil reputa- 
tion, and to a conununity that had yet to learn to love it. The secular press, 
with one or two exceptions, received it oldly, and referred to its 'singularity' ; 
the religious press franticall}' excommunicated it, and anathematized it as the 
oflspring of evil ; the liigh promise of the Overland Monthly was said to have 
been ruined by its birth; Christians were cautioned against pollution by its con- 
tact ; practical budness men were gravely urged lo condemn and frown upon this 
picture of Californian society that was not conducive to Eas'.ern immigration; 
its hapless author was held up to obloquy as a man who had abused a sacred trust. 
If its life and reputation depended on its reception in California, this edition and 
explanation would alike have been needless. 



THR INCOMPARABLK TIIKICIC. 1^3 

" lint, foitimately, the youiif^ Overland Moidlilij liad in ils (iiHl iiiiml)er 
secured a hearing and position thronf^hout tiie American Union, and tlie autiior 
awaited the larf^or venlirt. Tlio publiHher, alb( it hiw worst fearw were confirmed, 
was not a man to woaUiy rcj^rcl a j)osition lie inid oncre taken, and waited also. 
Tlie rotin-n mail I'roni the Mast hroufj^iil a li'ttiT addrcKsed lo the 'Kditor of tiie 
Overland Monthli/,' iMiclosinji; a letter from Kii'lds, ( )H]L;ood Si Co., the pidilishers 
of the Atlantic Monthly, addressed to the — to them nnknown — author of 'Tlie 
LueU of Jvoarinj; ( 'amp.' This the author opened and found to he a recjuest, 
upon the most llutlerin),' ti'rms, for a story for the Atlantic similar to the " Ltick." 
The same mail hrou^^ht newspapers and reviews weleominji; the little foundling of 
{'alifornian literature with an enthusiasm that half f'righti'nid the author; but 
with the placing of that letter in the hands of the publisher, who chanced to be 
standing by his side, and who, during those dark days, had, without the author's 
tV.ith, sustained the author's position, he ("clt that his compensation was full and 
complete. 

" Thus encouraged 'The Luck of Roaring (!amp ' was followed by 'The 
Outcasts of I'okcr h'lat,' 'Miggles,' and 'Tennessee's I'artner,' and those various 
other characters who had impressed the author when, a mere truant bchoolboy, 
he had lived among them. It is hardly necessary to say to any observer of 
human nature that, at this time, he was advised by kind and well-meaning 
friends to content himself with the success of the ' Luck,' and not tempt criticism 
again; or that from that moment ever after he was in recei{)t of that ecpially 
sincere contemporaneous criticism which assured him gravely that each succes- 
sive story was a falling oil' from the last." 

After referring lo the cncourageiueiit in America and Kng- 
land, which ha.s since seemed to justify hiiu in portraying "this 
pictures(|ue pa.ssing civilization," Bret Ilarte continues as follows: 

" A few words regarding the [)eculiar conditions of life and society that 
are here rudely sketched. The author is aware that, partly from a habit of 
thought and expression, partly from the exigencies of brevity in his narrations 
and partly from the habit of addressing an audience familiar with tlie local 
scenery, he often assimies, as premises already grante<l by the reader, the existence 
of a peculiar and romantic state of civilization, the like of which few JOnglish 
readers are inclined to accept without corroborative facts and figures. These he 
could only give by referring to the ephemeral records of Californian journals of 
that date, and the testimony of far scattered witnes!-es, survivors of the exodus of 
1849. He must beg the reader to bear in mind that this emigration was either 
across a continent almost unexplored or by the way of a long and dangerous 
voyage around Cape Horn, and that the promised land itself presented the 
singular spectacle of a patriarchal Latin race who had been left to themselves, 
forgotten by the world for nearly three hundred years. 

" .\fter explaining that the only time that the author ever drew njum his 
imagination and fancy for a character and plot, he received a printed slip from 



134 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

an old newspaper containing the minor details, as a correction for some of his 
facts, Bret Harte continues as follows: 'The author has been repeatedly cau- 
tioned, kindly and unkindly, intelligently and unintelligently, against his 
alleged tendency to confuse recognized standards of morality by extenuating 
lives of recklessness and often criminality, with a single solitary virtue. He 
might easily show that he has never written a sermon, that he has never moral- 
alized or commented upon the actions of his heroes ; that he never voiced a 
creed or obtrusively demonstrated an ethical opinion. He might easily allege 
that this merciful efl'ect of his art arose from the reader's weak human sympa- 
thies, and hold himself irresponsible. 

" ' But he would be conscious of a more miserable weakness in thus 
divorcing himself from his fellow-men, who, in the domain of art, must ever 
walk hand in hand with him. Sy he prefers to say, that of all the various 
forms in which cant presents itself to suffering humanity, he knows of none so 
outrageous, so illogical, so undemonstrable, so marvellously absurd, as the cant of 
' too much mercy.' 

"' When it shall be proven to him that communities are degraded and 
brought to guilt and crime, suffering or destitution, from a predominance of this 
quality ; when he shall see pardoned ticket-of leave men elbowing men of austere 
lives out of situations, and the repentant Magdalen supplanting the blameless 
virgin in society, then he will lay aside his pen and extend his hand to the new 
Draconian discipline in fiction. But until then he will, without claiming to be a 
religious man or a moralist, but simply as an artist, reverently and humbly con- 
form to the rules laid down by a Great Poet, who created the parable of the 
'Prodigal Son' and the 'Good Samaritan,' whose works have lasted eighteen 
liundred years, and will remain when the present writer and his generation are 
forgotten." 

When a great wave of enthusiasm swept back across the 
Eastern sea from I^oiidon and the continent, telling us that a new 
poet had been born, and his home was in California, people 
marvelled. How could it be ? " And what good was the poetrj^ 
anyway ? ' ' Then came the volume of verse, and it was read 
aloud at the firesides and many lines became endeared b}' these 
associations. Always to be remembered are these lines from the 
" Arizouian " : 

So I have said, and I say it over, 

And can prove it over and over again, 

That the four-footed beasts on the red-crowned clover. 

The field and horned beasts on the plain. 

That lie down, rise up, and repose again. 

And do never takt care or toil or spin, 

Nor buy, nor build, nor gather in gold, 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. 



135 



Though the days go out, and the tides come in, 
Are better than we by a thousand fold, 
For what is it all, in the words of fire, 
But a vexing of soul, and a vain desire? 

But in the midst of all this admiration and pride in our 
Californian poet, who had taken London by storm, came the 
poet's wife upon the lecture-stand, proclaiming her wrongs and 
resentment to the public, for she, too, was gifted and was un- 
willing to submit patiently to being the wife of a genius. If all 
the women who are unsatisfied with this position in life should 
take to the platform in similar fashion, all geniuses would soon 
become absurd to the world. 

It was Joaquin Miller's misfortune thus to be proclaimed in 
the midst of his literary brightness. He was poor and struggling 
at the time, but even then sent small sums to his wife for her 
assistance. He was eccentric and unconventional, and, being 
young, full of romantic 
ideas of life, and being of 
nomadic instincts from his 
birth, drifted about Europe 
and took it all in. Mean- 
while he was writing such 
poems as have not been 
written since; fresh, orig- 
inal verse, full of historical 
undercurrent and felicitous 
imagery, tropic fire and 
barbaric splendor. 

In his extreme youth he 
had traveled with the 
Indians and joined in their 
sports and mated among 
them, and had a tale to tell 
that delighted the satiated 
palates of the old world. Indeed, it is only out of barbarism, just 
as civilization begins to blossom, that we get our poets in anj^ 
land or any history. And it is scarcely possible to require of 
these immortals that they shall conform to the straight lines of 
the ordinary mortal. Something has to be sacrificed. 




JOAQUIN MILLKK. 



136 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

In time Miller returned to California, but he was not liked 
by the people. They didn't care for poets anyway. He went 
Kast and settled down to hard journalistic work, writing corres- 
pondence for newspapers, the most beautiful choice English, and 
of such texture that even his detractors declared, " Well, he can 
write." Novels appeared and volumes of poetry, showing con- 
secutiveness of purpose and great industry. In the midst of his 
correspondence for the Chronicle in 1882 was a remarkable letter 
regarding his wife, Minnie Myrtle Miller, who, though divorced 
and remarried, as was the case with himself, yet in her distress, 
poverty and illness had sought him out in New York City. He 
promised her on her death-bed to write the story of their lives, 
and he did it, bravely and unflinchingly, and with delicacy, doing 
more than justice to the dead woman. That article changed 
public opinion in a great degree. Who could choose or do justice 
between two erratic, unconventional natures equally abounding 
in the heedlessness of youth ? 

But all the while, whether the people liked Miller or not, 
Miller loved California. And of the Incomparable Three, he is 
the only one who has returned to her shores to buy his land and 
make him a home on the hillsides of the land he loves best. It 
is an odd, beautiful spot on the hills back of Oakland, away 
from the paths of men, and above the fogs that clasp the lower 
world in their embrace. Each room of the place he calls home 
is built under a separate roof, no two people sojourning in the 
same spot. One of these quaint dovecotes has been set apart for 
his mother for her own as long as she lives. She is a lively and 
brisk figure, crowned with a tremendous head of golden hair. 
Whatever the outside world may call her son, or however he is 
named in the encyclopedias of the poets, the writer has it from 
her lips that she named him Cincinnatus Heine, and that he was 
born in Hendricks County, Indiana, came to Oregon when a 
small boy and came of Pennsylvania Dutch and Quaker stock. 
Laughingly she accuses Ina D. Coolbrith of giving him the name 
of "Joaquin," and then it is revealed that it came to pass from 
the title of his first volume of poems, "Joaquin Et Al," adopted 
first as a p.seudonym, and finally as his own name. On the hill 
above is his crematory, a stone pile, where he is to be burned 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. 1 37 

on his death at the cost of only enough wood to reduce him 
to ashes. Within his tent-like home of one room are his treas- 
ures, but not one book, not even his own. He prefers to dwell 
with nature and not with man. 

He has had many volumes published, two novels, "The One 
Fair Woman" and the "Baroness of New York," and many 
volumes of poetry, chief among which are "Joaquin Et Al," 
"Songs of the Sierras," "Songs of the Sundown Sea," "Olive 
I^eaves," " The Arizonian," "Songs of Italy," " Memorie and 
Rime," "Songs of the Mexican Seas" and "Isles of the 
Amazon." 

It is ot very little avail whether we appreciate the fact that 
Miller has returned to California or not — the only fact with which 
we have anything to do is his literary work, and that is con- 
fessedly above and beyond all that has been done by any other 
Californian in the line of verse and prose description. After 
reading through his many volumes of rich and beautiful imagery, 
one is almost constrained to believe that the power to love is 
really worth something after all. 

During the year of 1892 Joaquin Miller has come down occa- 
sionally from his eyrie in the mountains and mingled with men 
in the cities. As a result there are those who have come to 
entertain a deep affection for him, as well as an unqualified 
admiration. His manner is simple and natural as that of a child ; 
what he says is sensible and direct ; he leaves no one, not even 
the smallest, out of the conversation. Upon one occasion he was 
so polite to a little girl who was present that upon his departure 
she gave way to raptures of delight. Whatever the old-timers of 
California may hold against poets — and against Western poets 
particularly, especially when they are still alive — this will carry 
no weight with the youth of to-day who have once met Joaquin 
Miller, heard him speak and hung upon his words. 

In the sketches he has contributed to the San Francisco 
Moryimg Call he relates some of his experiences when abroad. 
From the sketch on " Robert Browning" is the following quota- 
tion made : 

" How I came to know Robert Browning and his kind, or why Fate, so 
terribly cruel to me as a rule, should have so favored me, will to the end be to 



13^ CALIKORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

me a miracle. * * * And so 1 must ascribe it all to the great, good Euglish 
heart : for nothing in the world is nearly so warm as the inside of the English 
house and heart, and few things are so cold »s the outside. 

"I had left Oregon almost without monev, and, of course, without letters. 
Bret Harte in San Francisco had helpe*.! me get permission to try to write letters 
for a San Francisco paper from the Framv-Prussian war, then raging, and with 
this and my rhymes I set out. * * * Bat tiuding no remittances forthcoming 
for my work, 1 accepted the conviction that my battle-tield letters had been 
tumbled into the basket unread (as was the case\ and s.> set about the impossible 
task of finding a publisher for my poems; tinally pawneii my watch and so got 
out one hundreil copies called ' Paci tic Poems," publisheii without a publisher. 
* * * When the notices of my one hnndre^i copies came out I had my pick 
of London publishers. T»vo bright and thoroughbreil Oxford gentlemen name^l 
the new bix>k 'Songs of the Sierras' and revise^! it for me, for my eyes had faileil 
from an old attack of snow-blindness in Idaho, aggravated by a winter of London 
smoke, anxiety, hunger and hard work. * "* * Mind you. no one knew I was 
poor. My poverty was nty own business and I kept it to myself. There is but 
one thing more vulgar than a display of wealth, and that is a display of poverty. 
But 1 reokon I was thought to be rich, like all Americans there, as a rule, and 
none but those two young friends knew, nor did they half know, my siitierings 
from my blinding eyes. Soon after launching my new book these two young 
friends came out to see me where I sc\t in darkness and pain and read my letters 
to me. 

" ' Your fortune is made," crievl one. ' Here is a letter from Dean Trench 
Archbishop of Dublin, to meet Browning at breakfast.' 

'"And that is the long-short stjry of how I di-st caaie to meet Robert 
Browning." 

As an instance of newspaper enterprise with happy literary 
results, perhaps nothing can exceed in value the achievement of 
the San Francisco ir.t\?w///cr upon the subject of " Tennyson." 
upon the occasion of the poet's death. Joaquin Miller. Ina D. 
Coolbrith and John Vance Cheney, three Califomian poets, gave 
a splendid tribute to the poet and added to Califomian literature 
at one and the same time. 

From Ambrose Bierce the following quotation is given 
regarding the response of Joaquin Miller upon this occasion: 

'•In Mr. Miller's lines we have. I think, a superb instance of what we 
have agreeii to name inspiration. * * ^ If ever a poet's work is done in 
the light and tire of a splendid spontaneity, this work must have been so done. 
It seems now all very easy and obvious, doubtless? — that conception of the malig- 
nant planet apprv>aching the earth to seaivh out the great poets and consume 
their lives, one at"ter one. * ^ ^ "\Vhv, what has been talked of more 



THE INCOMPARABLE THREE. 1^9 

this vear than the common propinquity of Mars, with his bad astrological repu- 
tation—excepting, indeed, the deaths in quick succession of Browning, Lowell, 
Whitman, Whittier and, at last. Tennyson? 

" Well, 1 will venture to s:iy that to no other man in all the world than 
Joaquin Miller, and to him only because he is himself a great poet with a great 
poet's accessibility to great thoughts, came the light of that revelation, even 
brokenly or with an evanescent gleam. And here 1 wish to say, and upon the 
assertion stake whatever reputation for literary understanding 1 may chance to 
have, that in all the work of all the red planet's victims there is not a larger, 
nobler, more purely poetic conception than this of tiieir surviving brother — 
whom, in gratitude for the delight he htxs given me, I beg to warn that the 
menace of Mars burns implacable in the skies, 'a still and awful red.' 

" Who but a great poet would have thought — who but Jo.<iquin Miller did 
think of a nexus between the death of Tennyson and ralifornia's unseasonable 
rain? * * * Doubtless it is possible to imagine that the silent tragedy 
at Aldworth might have been brought more closely home to our Western hearts; 
but he who could imagine how it might be done would be a greater poet than 
>[illcr — and Mars has left us none.'" 

THE PASSING OF TEXNYSON. 

We knew it, as God's prophets knew ; 

We knew it, as nuite red men know, 
When Mai-s leapt searching h»^aven through 

AVith tlaming torch that he nuist go. 
Then Browning, he who knew the stars, 
Stood forth and faced the insatiate ^lars. 

Then up from Cambridge rose and turned 

Sweet Lowell from his Druul trees — 
Turned where the great star blazed and burned. 

As if his own soul might appease. 

Yet on and on, through all the stars. 
Still searched and searched insatiate Mars. 

Then staunch Walt Whitman saw and knew ; 
Forgetful of his 'Leaves of Grass,' 

He heard his ' Drum Taps," and God drew 
His great soul through the shining pass, 
Made light, made bright by burnished stars. 

Made scintillant from tlaming Mars. 

Then soft-voiced Whittier was heai-d 

To cease ; was heard to sing no more ; 
As you have heard some sweetest bird 

Tlie more because its song is o'er. 
Yet brighter up the street of stars 
Still blazed and burneii and beckoned ^lars. 



140 



CAl.n\>KNIAN WKITICKS AND I.ITICK A Tl' KK. 



Aiul thou the king ciiuo; king of thought, 
Kiii)j David with his hnrp jiml crown. . . 

llow wisoly woU tho goils had wrought 
That tl\ose had goiu> and sat thoiu down 

To wait and woK'on\o n\id tlio stars 

All silont in tho sight of Mai-s. 

All slloiU. . . So. l>o lios in state. . . 

Our rtnlwoods drip ami ilrip with rain. . . 
Against our rook-Ioi-kod lioUlon t-iato 

Wo hoar tho groat sad sobbing main. 
lUit silont all. . . llo walked the stai-s 
ri\at vear tlie wliolo world turned to Mars, 

— Joaquin MUki 



THE CAUIFORHlflN. 

IS04— iser. 

EDITOR, PROPRIBTOF? A|*JD JVtAflHGEf^ 
Charles Hcnnj Webb. 

CONTRIBUTOI^S 

Mark 2\rain, Bret Harte, Charles ]\'arrcn Stoddard, Jna Coolbrith, James F. 
Bomnan, Eliza A. Piltftinger, Frank MeCoppin, W. C. Ealston, Joseph A. Don- 
ahtus, Bishop Kip, John Sime, William Sharon, Hall McAllister and others. 

Regarding the first appearauce of the Cali/ornion the Boston 
Evening Transcript gave the following : 

"We have received the tirst number of the Califomian, a weekly journal 
just started in 8au Francisco under the eilitorial charge of Charles H. Webb, a 
gentloniau well known to New York journalism. Mr. Webb was for several 
years attached to the editorial start" of the New York Ti'nios, where he occupied 
the responsible post of literary editor, anil where his criticisms were the object of 
special remark for their freshness and piquancy. His new enterprise, the Cali- 
fomian, bears the impress of his editorial skill on every page. It is a handsome 
paper of sixteen pages, about the size of the Bound Table before it was cut down, 
and not unlike that journal in character and scope. It is printed upon a quality 
of paper which, in these days, seems almost prodigally fine. If such a journal 
fan be sustained in California, it is certainly a good token for the literary taste 
of the land of gold. At all events, judging from the first nundier, no man is 
more capable of directing its career in a successful path than its projector and 
editor." 

The Colifornian lived to be three years old and has never died. 
In tracing the history of Californian publications the meniorj- of 
Charles Henry Webb's paper of the early sixties maintains a 
surprising vitality. It made a strong impression at that time, 
which continues to-day. But not a word can be found in the 
printed page to tell of its existence ; — it is always in men's mem- 
ories that it has its abiding place, and this fact gives proof to the 
saying of Calvin B, McDonald, "No matter where uttered, a 
great thought never dies. ' ' 



142 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

I remember, when a child, hearing my father read the letters 
of ' ' John Paul ' ' aloud from the columns of the press — I think 
the Sacramento Union. And how great and wonderful he seemed 
to us ! He was so grotesque in his humor, so ingenious in his 
recital. 

Since I have been engaged upon this interminable pursuit of 
the writers of Californian publications of a literary nature, I have 
sought in vain for the evidence of the existence of "John Paul," 
otherwise Charles Henry Webb. Miss Coolbrith had written for 
his journal, another had known him, but there was nothing on 
record to prove him. At last I heard of "St. Twelmo," and 
just as this volume goes to press I find a copy of " John Paul's 
Book," consisting of 600 pages. 

It is funny — very funny: The opening sentences are ingen- 
ious and direct : 

"Several causes moved me to write this book. First, I wanted to. Look- 
ing back over my checkered career I discovered that I had written a good deal, 
and the willingness of the world to let it all die astonished me. Then, too, the 
newspapers containing my articles were getting worn out. * * * * So I 
propose merely to string together the odds and ends of my literary life, com- 
mencing with a series of letters of comparatively recent date, which seemed to 
amuse the public at the time they were written. If these do not suffice to make 
my book I shall draw on all I have ever done. If the book still falls short, I 
shall write enough to fill it out or perish nobly in the attempt. For never shall 
it be said of me that I put my hand to the plow and turned back. For that 
matter, never shall it be said of me that I put hand to a plow at all, unless a 
plow should chase me upstairs and into the privacy of my bedroom, and then I 
should only put hand to it for the purpose of throwing it out of the window." 

Mr. Webb has one chapter in his book in which he disclaims 
being a Californian humorist. The Atlantic Monthly, under the 
head of ' ' Recent Literature, ' ' gave place to a paragraph contain- 
ing sentences as follows : 

" Very likt-ly the real Californian, son of the red soil and blue sky, will be 
altogether difTerent from Mark Twain Clemens, formerly Missourian, or Bret 
Harte, formerly New Yorker, or Prentice Mulford or Charles Webb or Charles 
Warren Stoddard. * * * Yet they have each deeply received the same 
Californian stamp. * * * The state of things in which they found them- 
selves must have affected them as immensely droll. In it, but not of it, they 
must have felt themselves rather more comic than anything about them. And 
this sense of one's own grotesqueness is Humor, with the large H. * * * The 



THE CALIFORNIAN. 1 43 

conditions being exaggerated in the case of the Californian literateurs, we can 
readily account for the greater irreverence and abandon of their humor, which 
has now become the type of American humor, so tliat no merry person can hope 
to please the public unless he approaches it." 

To this classification Mr. Webb objected, as far back as 187/}, 
but perhaps he will allow the Californian to be counted in as a 
Californian publication. Of that journal he says : 

"I was — and am — rather proud of that paper. To the Californian, under 
my management, many who have since obtained widespread reputations, con- 
tributed. And it was called considerable of a paper — to be published so far 
away from Boston. * * * It has sometimes occurred to me that possibly the 
Californian did something toward bringing out the latent genius of the Pacific 
Coast, a genius which has since blossomed to such an extraordinary degree that 
much has been transplanted to the nutritious soil of Plymouth Eock — a change 
more beneficial to the Rock than to the transplanted— and there is still some left. 
But I do not remember to have ever heard this opinion expressed by any one 
else, and merely throw it out for what it is worth. 

"Consequently, when it began to be published, and continues still to be 
published in Mr. Bret Harte's Biographies, that that very clever gentleman 
established the Californian — I must admit that a wave of trouble rolled and still 
rolls across my peaceful breast. * * * It is not gratifying to be spoken of as 
second fiddle in mention of an extended performance where I regularly sawed 
away as first and was for some time nearly the entire orchestra." 

By which sentiments it may be seen that Charles Henry 
Webb, otherwise "John Paul," has no objection to fathering his 
Californian offspring, even though he may not be a Californian 
writer. 

It is well known as a part of the history of the literature 
of the Pacific Coast, that the Californian of CharleslHenry Webb 
contained the nucleus out of which grew the Overland, 





THE OVERbflHD SCHOOU. 

PUBUISHERS: 

Aulonc liomdii, Jolni Cunnaiij/. 

eOlTORS: 

Jhrt Jliirli-, luiiidiiiiii /\ Airri/, W'illitxm ]iartlt-lt and others. 

COlSTt^lBUTORS: 

Fduwd Sill, Charles Sioddard, Joaquin Miller, Mark l\vaiit, P)r)ttiee Mid- 
ford, Daniel O'Connell, K. G. Waite, C. ]\f. Seammon, ^^. O. Upton, John il/ujr, 
Wm. Ingraham Kip, J. Jioss Jirowne, ./). 0. Oilman, J. T>. Whitney, Henry George, 
Ambrose JHeree, Taliesin i'.'ixtH*, J^oiiis Agassi::, i). ir«//fr, 2\ter Toft, lloraee 
Daris, A. IT. Loomis, John 11'. vl»if.<, Noah Ihooks, Henry G. Hanks, James P. 
Hagite, James /•'. Jiowman, John C i\nnony, Jlenrtf Jiobinson, John DeGroot, 
Andrew J. Greyson, J. 11'. Golly, Joseph LeConte, S. C. VerJfehr, }\'m. Hammond 
Hull, Jlenry ^^ Jfanks, Joseph ]\'asson, Jna J). Coolbrith, Jlannah Neal, Joseph 
Clifford, l-Vancis Fuller Victor, Sarah Ji. Cooper, Jjoura Lyon While, Amalie La- 
Forge, Therese Velrerton, Mary V. Lawrence, Georgiana Bruce Kirby, Louise ]\rlmer 
JleatYn, 3/<i»m/ Lynde Hoffman and others. 

The foumling of the 0:'e'r/a//(/ inaga/ino iti iS7v*> was the 
literary son.sation of the day. Then it was that Calitoniiati liter- 
ature was horn. 'I'he (\'f7 /</;/</ was the eotieeptiou ol' Hret llarte 
tVoni lirst to last, ami aehieved its lame muler his management. 
Alter a preearions existenee financially the first year, under 
.\ntone Roman, the fust publisher, it came into the possession 
ol" John 11. Carmany, who has a \ery interesting history to tell 
of the concluding chapters ami many personal reminiscences of 
Hret llarte. Condensed it is something as follows: 



Till'; OVKRIvAND SCIIOOI^. 



H5 



" I tloii't tliink I count sit .ill with the Caliromiaii writers. 1 wiis only the 
fellow Mint kept the wolf Ironi the door — the mercenary chap— the handler of 
lilthy lucre — which the talented ones always despised, but were most eajjer 
to possess. I can scarcely forbear saying that I spent tliirty thousand dollars to 
make Bret llarte famous— that being the an\ount l lost on the nianngenient of 
the Overland. Upon the appearance of the ' Ileatlien Chinee' IJret Ilarte blazed 
into sudden glory. His other stories were then hunted uj) and copied, particu- 
larly the one called ' The Luck of Roaring {'amp,' and he became known to the 
world. His style of writing was ' splendid in spots.' When oilers came in from 
tlie East, trying to induce him to le.ive California, I made every elVort to keep 

him, for at last there was a possibility of 
making the magazine self-supporting. I 
have still the contr.ict which was drawn 
at that time for the purpose of inducing 
H arte to remain. Harte was to receive 
$r)()00 a year for editing the magazine, 
$\()0 for every poem, $\0{) for every 
story that he should write and to have a 
one-fourth interest in the magazine. 
.Vlso I was to advance sullicient to cover 
the expenses for a trip Fast ou a lectur- 
ing tour, the proceeds of which, after 
expenses were jiaid, were to be equally 
divided. IJul the provision which called 
for the magazine to be ready for press 
on a certain date monthly, a point on 
which Harte was weak, for he was very 
dilatory, was the great stumbling-block. 
.\nd so in Aj)ril, 1S71, he went Kast, 
slipped up ou several opportunities, and then got $10,000 from the Allnntic 
magazine and did nothing in return. .Vfter that he had li.ml lines until he 
settled down to work again. 

" Alcanwhile I had several inellicient editors on the Ore-land, -ind then 
came l>cnjamin V. Avery, a man that 1 have a deep allection for to this day, 
though he has passed away, and then William Hartlett, who did some mighty 
good work, but the glory of the Orcrlaud went with Bret Ilarte, 

" 1 grew tired of throwing my money away and the magazine came to an 
end in 1875. 

"I have most interesting material in the original manuscripts, and books 
of letters from early writers of that time in my possession, and prize tlicm 
highly. For 1 shall always look back to that period of my life as the brightes 
of my existence — in connection and close association with the stars of Californian 
literature — Joaquin Miller, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard 
Edward Sill, Ina Coolbrith, Josephine Clillltrd and many others. And they 
have reason to remember me, for never have such [)riccs been paid for poems, 
stories and articles as 1 paid to the writers of the old Overland." 




JOHN II. CAKI\I ANY 



146 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



John H, Carman}' was born in the same county that gave 
birth to the philanthropist Lick — Lebanon county. Pa. He was 
a printer at sixteen and came to California in iS^S. He was 
publisher of the Conunerdal Herald in 1S67, and then took 
charge of the Overlaid until 1S75. After the loss of his $30,000, 
he turned his attention to mining in a pocket mine, from which 
he took one nugget of gold worth $Soo. Mr. Carmany was 
Supervisor on the Board of Sau Francisco City Council in iSSi- 
82, from the published reports of which his photograph has been 
obtained, and is now a rancher in East Oakland, owner of the 
Sunflower ranch, as daintj', pretty and complete a place as can 
be found anywhere. An art 
atmosphere prevails, stained 
glass and chapel effects, and amid 
the treasures there gathered, chief 
of all are the libraries containing 
the bound volumes of the old 
Overland, with souvenirs of that 
celebrated period. 

Next to the Incomparable 
Three of Californian literature 
for quality and a m o \i n t of 
material produced consecutively, 
in bound volume ai:d in current 
magazine extending over a space 
of many years, and who have 
received recognition abroad , 
stand the names oi Edward Row- 
land Sill, Charles Warren Stoddard and Ina D. 
belonging to the Overlatid school. 

Edward Rowland Sill was born in Windsor, Connecticut, in 
1 84 1, He graduated at Yale College. Class of 1861, and came to 
California the following year. He engaged in business till 1S67, 
when he returned East with the intention of entering the min- 
istry. After having studied at the Divinity School of Harvard 
University, however, he gave up the purpose, married, and occu- 
pied himself with literary work and traveling. He then re- 
turned to California in 1S71, and became principal of the Oakland 




KlnVARD ROWLAND SILL, 



Coolbrith, all 



THE OVERLAND SCHOOI.. 1 47 

High School — a few years later accepting the position of the 
Chair of English Literature in the University of California, where 
he remained for more than a decade. His health failing, he made 
a trip East, and died at Cayuga Falls, Ohio, February 27th, 1887. 
Edward Rowland Sill has been compared to the poet Bryant 
in the style of his literary productions. He is possessed of a 
keen analytical tendency, however, that cuts to the quick in the 
portraying ot human nature and the revealing of human weak- 
ness. His poem, "The Fool's Prayer," popular as a recitation, 
contains a depth of meaning beneath the words — 

" I?e merciful to mc, a fool." 

Containing" the poems of Sill there are three volumes in ex- 
istence, of which ' ' The Hermitage ' ' is the most remarkable. 
There are many fine lines, full of beauty and strength, .scattered 
throughout the poem. The theme is of one who wearies of the 
common horde of mankind, and — 

" Of the endless humming in the hives 
Of the bitter honey that we eat." 

* -;<■ * * * 
Let me arise and away 

To the land that guards the dying day, 
Whose moonlight poured for years untold 
lias drifted down in dust of gold. 
Whose morning splendors, fallen in shower?, 
Leaves ceaseless sunrise in the flowers. 

* * » * * 
Where the quail has left a zigzag row 

Of brightly printed stars her track to show. 
***** 

Here on a mountain side that comes down to the sea, and in 
sight of the city of San Francisco, is the " Hermitage." Every 
line breathes of the locality, seen through the eyes of one who 
worships nature. His reflections on the subject of the grandeur 
of being alone are quaint and touching. But after awhile the 
loneliness palls upon him and he craves companionship. It is 
very sweet, therefore, when his love comes to find him and takes 
him back to his duties and obligations once more in the "busy 
hive." 



148 



CAI.IKORNIAN WRITERS AND LITKRATURK 



" 1 sat last night on yonder riiJge of rocks 
To see the snn set over Tanialpais; 
Whose tinttnl {leaks sutliisetl with rosy n\ist 
IMenaed the colors of the sea and sky 
And made the mountain one great amethyst. 

Hanging against the sun. 

***** 

I iiold my hand up. so, before my face. 
It blots ten miles of country and a town. 

* * * * # 
'Tis well Gixl does not measure a man's worth 
By the image in his neighbor's retina. 



No tew paragraphs such as these cau do justice either to the 
man or the poet, E. R. Sill. He is worthy of a splendid setting 
and oi' a place in every library. 

Charles Warren Stoddard was born at Rochester, X. Y., 
August S, 1S43, and came to California when about seven years 
old. His writings best known to the public are "South Sea 
Idyls." " Mashallah. or a Flight into Egypt " and " The Lepers 
of Molokai." He has published anonymously a brief autobi- 
ography entitled "A Troubled Heart and How it Was Comforted 
at Last." He writes because he 
loves to write, and writes onl\ 
when the spirit moves him. 

As he now occupies the Chair 
of luiglish Literature in the 
Catholic liniversity of America, 
at Washington. P. C, his pen is 
chiefly employed in the produc- 
tion of his semi- weekly lectuies. 
atid it is not likely that he will 
hereafter often address the pub 
lie. But there is sotnethmg 
about the mention of the name 
of Charley Stoddard, as he l•^ 
tamiliarly called, which rou>^e'^ 
the kindliest feelings. No writer 
is better beloved in the Califor- 
nia which is still the home of his heart 




CHARLKS \V-\RREX STOUlK\Kl\ 



His verse is ahvavs 



THE OVERLAND SCHOOL. I49 

gladly welcomeil ami read with pleasure and preserved in scrap- 
books. Especially is this so with his poetu on California. 

Oh, thou, my best beloved ! My pride, my boast. 

Stretching tliy glorious lengtli along the West; 
Within the girdle of thy sunlit coast. 

From pine to palm, from palm to every crest, 

All fruits, all flowers, all cereals are blest. 
And there the precious hearts still spared to me 

Beckon ; and there my holy dead find rest — 
Under the Mountain Lone, the Calvary, 
Fanned by the winds that sweep the Occiilental sea. 

* ■)(■**** * 
Oil, California ! Dowered with the clime of climes, 

At thy fair feet tlie alien heapcth spoil: 
The poet chanteth thee in praiscful rhymes; 

lie sees the banner of thy fate uncoil — 

A thousand cities springing from thy soil. 
Born of young hopes, but nurtured in the brawn, 

Wrought by the brave and tireless hands of toil, 
To hovisc a nobler race when we are gone — 
A race prophetical, that bides the coming dawn. 

— Charles Warren Stoddai-d. 

From the time of his " Swallow Flights" in the old Golden 
Era to the present time, the literary way has been beautified by 
the flowers of his mind. P'rom the noble lines in the July Ce?i- 
tury of 1SS5, entitled " In the Sierras," to the quaint bit of fan- 
tasy on "The Egyptian Princess," a mummy belonging to the 
Bohemian Club, or the verses of occasion for the day of the 
Native Sons of the Golden West, all are exquisite conceptions, 
and read with appreciation by Californians, who always keep for 
him a warm place in their hearts. 

There is strength and there is beauty in every line that Ina 1). 
Coolbrith writes. Born in Illinois, yet she came to California 
when but a child, and has remembrance of no other home. Her 
girlhood was passed mostly in L,os Angeles. A pretty story is 
told of Miss Coolbrith when she was but a child. She was stand- 
ing by the road one day when some Mexican-Californians came 
riding by, with jingling spur, and embroidered saddle, and arms 
full of flowers. "See the pretty little Americana," called out 
one of the gallant swarthy race, and as he spoke, he showered his 



150 CAl.nOKNlAN NVKITKKS ANP I.ITKK ATl'KK. 

tlowcis upon hor. Aiul thus was she properly christened by the 
spirit ot the old times and dedicated to the service of the new 
Calitoruia. 

With only a public school education and no literary training, 
yet she entered the lists and was soon acknowledged as mistress 
ot" the art of verse — fresh, original and spontaneous. 

Her verses appeared tirst in the O/Z/Avv/ /<?'.•, a literary weekly 
of San Kraucisco, conducted by C. 11. \Vebb. now of New York : 
later in the Ozyr/iinJ J/ouf/:/i\ Srn'd/i(f\<, Hatpirs, Cc'niur\\ etc. 
Her one volume of verse. "A Perfect Day and Other Poems,"' 
issueil by j. A. Carm my in iSSi, contains none of her later 
work ; btit it is all finished and elegant in poetical form, and 
pitched in a tense key of teeliug. Many are carved gems. There 
is no other wom.in writer in California who equals her in beauty 
and strength and purity of language, at one and the same time, 
for. while Mmma Frajices Dawson surpasses her in strength, it is 
at the expense of beauty. 

One ot Miss Coolbrith's most sustained poems, exemplifying 
these qualities, is upon Calitornia. tVoni which an extract is 
taken : 

\ \ » -^-c * * * 

Upon luy t'l-^sb, gnn^n sod, 
No king has walkoii to d^olato : 

Um hi the valloys Fretxloiu sits ami sing^ 

And on the heights aWve : — 
I'pon her hi\>\vs are olive boughs 

And in her arms a dove. 
And the great hills aiv pure undeseeraie: 

\Yhiio with their snows untrvxl. 
And mighty tis with the prx><omv of their ».ii.Hl! 

•»»**■>** 
1 langhe\l and sang, and s;ing and langhevl ag:»in. 
*' l*ei":»uso that now," 1 ssiid. "I shall l>e known; 

1 shall not sit alone — 
But reach my hands unto the other lands. 

And lol the lands shall turn 
Old. wandering, dim eyes to mo, and yearn — 

Ave, they will yearn, in sooth. 
To mv glad iH^uity. and my glad, t'resh youth!" 

Full of local color are Miss Coolbritb's poems — that one 
iugievlient lacking in many of our jx^ets. The meadow-larks 



TIIR OVICRI.AND SCHOOL. 



151 



sing joyously, the CiiUiorniaii skies overarch th.e earlh, the rains 
f.iU, pictures and metaphors spring always into being from this 
land of our own. Not less beautiful arc the verses she has 
written for an exquisite book of pressed Californiau wildflowers. 
which breathe of the soil from which they spring, and thej'' are 
written with such delicacy and fitness that they arc no less a 
creation than the llowcrs themselves. 

No picture can do justice to Miss Coolbrith's remarkable 
face. In her eye there is the look of the sibyl, a touch of the in- 
sight that belongs to prophec)', to divination. To those who love 
her she is beautiful, and of her they say, "vShe is a grand soul." 
In giving her time to the duties of Librarian of the Oakland 
Free Librarj', Miss Coolbrith has had but a limited opportunity 
for a literar}' career. It is to be hoped, however, that Fate will 
bestir herself and make amends for this absorption of one of our 
brightest minds (^by means of "the combined forces of the 
adverse"), in the mere handling of books and cataloguing them, 
when she should be engaged in the making of them. It is to be 

feared that California is not a 

J congenial soil for the placing 

of her children of g e n i u s . 

\\'hile she can grow them to 

perfection, yet it takes the 

foster-mother of the East, 

with all her arts and sciences, 

to extend her wing over the 

child of the West and give it 

. ^ .^^^_ its proper place in the world. 

L^JLlL. ^^^H Benjamin P. Avery, of 

whom Mr. Carmany speaks 
so fondly, is an instance of 
that quality in the Califor- 
niau miner which made him 
equal to any fate — as much 
at home with the pen as with 
the pick — familiar with the 
duties of a public as well as a private life. He stepped from the 
miner's place to the editorial chair, and from the editorial chair 




n.i:xjAMiN r. .-vvKRv 



152 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

in 1875 to the position of representative of the United States as 
Minister to China. Soon after his return to America he died, and 
his wife gathered together and had published the poems which 
from time to time had appeared in the Overland and elsewhere. 
This and another entitled ' ' California Pictures ' ' are the only 
works left to posterity to speak of his name, but these volumes 
are not adequate to express that deep underlying quality of sin- 
cerity and humor for which the man himself is remembered. 

William B. Bartlett, one of the editors of the Overland, wrote 
most charming essays for its pages which were afterward gath- 
ered and published in book form under the title of "A Breeze 
From the Woods." Since that time Mr. Bartlett's energies have 
been absorbed in the Eve7ii?ig Bulletin, and seldom has his liter- 
ary tendency been shown in the later magazines. 

One of the quaintest humorists of Californian literature has 
been Prentice Mulford, whose delicate philosophy interwoven 
with his humor has charmed thousands of readers. His name 
has been connected with the Golden Ei'a, the Overland and the 
San FrancivSCO daily press, to which for years he has contributed 
delightful letters of European travel. His reminiscences of com- 
ing around the Plorn, washing for gold in the mines, and experi- 
ences of later mining, always cropped out in everything he wrote, 
giving a Calitornian zest to the context. But like all our best 
known writers he had to find his niche in the Hast in order to 
achieve recognition. There he became known for his remarkable 
series of pamphlets called "The White Cross Library," which 
was based upon the idea that " Thoughts are Things." And his 
special effort was given to pursuading mankind to harbor special 
thoughts for special purposes, in order to attain health and 
happiness. These pamphlets were issued monthly and obtained 
a popular hold upon the people. I remember a certain attorney 
of San Francisco who was always in a hurry, thus keeping him- 
self in a constant state of nervousness, and how taken by surprise 
he was one day upon receiving one of these pamphlets of Prentice 
Mulford, sent by a friend with kindly intent. The title of it was 
" Mental Intemperance," and it contained most excellent philos- 
ophy, exactly fitting the case. Other papers are ' ' The God in 
Yourself," " Force and How to Get It," "The Doctor Within," 



THE OVERLAND SCHOOI.. 



153 



"The Healing and Renewing Force of Spring," and some fifteen 
or twenty more, each equally thoughtful and entertaining. It is 
said that finally Mr. Mulford became so bound up in his theories 
and ideas that he lived on that plane altogether. His spirit of 
humor, however, always remained with him, as is shown in his 
volume " The Swamp Angel," which contains in sixteen chap- 
ters, the Alpha and Omega of the author's erection of a house in a 
Jersey Swamp, and his unsuccessful efforts to hermitize there. 

It was with a feeling of personal loss that the people of Cali- 
fornia heard of the death of Prentice Mulford. He was found 
lying in the bottom of a boat, floating along with the tide, some- 
where in the vicinity of Long Island. And with the account of 
his mysterious end was also given the idea that Prentice Mulford 
was a believer in reincarnation and other Buddhistic beliefs — 
that he claimed to have a memory of past existences and past 
people. All of this was very uncanny to the ordinary citizen — 
and he turned back to the delightful letters of humor and wit and 
philosophy from Europe and elsewhere — and insisted on remem- 
bering his old friend Prentice Mulford, not as a mystic dabbling 

in Indian lore, but as an old 
California miner upon his 
travels around the world. 

The pleasant face of Noah. 
Brooks reveals a kinship wdth. 
the sports of youth. In early 
days, when he was a Califor- 
nian, he wrote Iresh, bright 
stories for the Overland, one 
of which was the ' ' Gentleman 
From Reno." Since then he 
has become famous for his 
boys' stories, published in St. 
Nicholas and in book form, 
and Californian stories, such 
as " The Cruise of theBalboa" 
and "The San Rafael Pha- 
lanstery " in the Century and 
He is a man from Maine, but is 




NOAH BROOKS. 



Other magazines of the East. 



t54 californian writers and literature. 

now editor of a journal in New Jersey. For the sake of the 
past we shall always want to claim the writer of these vigorous 
tales as our own, though it is now many years since he turned 
his steps Eastward. Of his last book, George Hamlin Fitch says : 

" Noah Brooks lias written a good story of early days in Kansas under 
the title of the ' Boy Settlers.' Two men and three boys started from Dixon, 
111., to take up land in bleeding Kansas, and to do their share in making the 
territory a free State. With this and the stories of old settlers as a basis Mr. 
Brooks has written an uncommonly good tale of adventure. The three boys are 
all genuine, manly fellows, and any boy who starts in to read about them will 
be sure to follow them to the end." 

The following sketch of Ralph Keeler is taken from Fred 
Somers' Calif orniaii Magazine : 

" Kalph Keeler, one of the Overland writers, was rather an odd personage. 
His personal experiences are well told in a clever volume called ' Vagabond 
Adventures,' while he himself ran the gauntlet of good and evil luck and died a 
mystery. In writing his novel entitled ' Gloverson and His Silent Partner,' 
he strove to make it so perfect in every respect that its success would be in- 
evitable. His descriptions of architecture were submitted to an architect, and a 
patent window case, his own invention, was meant to be one of the hits of the 
volume. There were humorous passages which were rewritten until the listener 
was bound to laugh ; and pathetic chapters meant to draw the tear. What was 
the result? The book was a failure. Poor Keeler! Fond of adventure and 
reckless to a degree he went to the West Indies as correspondent for the New 
York press. The steamer touched at a port in one of the islands, and when 
ready to sail on the morrow Ealph was nowhere to be found, nor has any clew to 
his death ever come to the light. It was his boast that he had made the tour of 
Europe on one hundred and thirty-one dollars in greenbacks. He was a laugh- 
ing philosopher, who even on this pittance must have carried sunshine wherever 
he went." 

Great have been the contributions made to the scientific and 
descriptive literature of California by such writers as Professor J. 
D. Whitney, Clarence King, Professor George Davidson and 
others. The following quotation is from Bancroft : 

" Clarence King's ' Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada ' was written 
originally for one of the Californian magazines, amid the scenes depicted, and 
by one who has long been connected with the country. His themes are lofty 
su;nmits and rugged clifls, and mantling glaciers encroaching on the border vege- 
tation. His spirit, responding to the inspiration of the scene, comes forth in the 
same variegated colors of language, mingled with thrilliog accounts of adventure. 



THE OVERLAND SCHOOL. 



155 



vivid portrayals of character, romantic episodes and touches of quaint liuraor. 
Popular appreciation is shown of this volume by the issue in 1882 of a sixth 
edition. His contributions to the reports of the Geological Survey of California 
have earned for him an enviable reputation." 

The following sketch upon John Muir is contributed by a 
young writer, Theodore S. Solomons. He has for years been a 
student of the literature of Professor Whitney, Clarence King, 
John Muir and other Californian nature-lovers and scientists. 
To such an extent, indeed, has he been an ardent disciple of these 
men that he has himself invaded the King's River country and 
other fastnesses of the High Sierra. 

"Mr. Muir's literary work is not more unique than that work would 
seem to suggest in his character as a man. A flavor of poetry introduced into 
the]prose of the traveler or scientific explorer is common enough, and, in a sense, 
quite necessary, and Mr. Muir's descriptions are unique in respect to this peculiar 
merit. On the other hind, no one who has suffered under the pen of the indis- 
criminating nature-gusher will be likely to undervalue tlie (juality of thorough, 

accurate observation, or of reliable 
^ technical reference, in the descrip- 
tion of natural wonders, such as the 
L'alifornian mountain scenery or 
Alaskan glacial regions, and here 
again his writings are unique because 
they must be conceded to possess this 
virtue in a very marked degree. 

"Professor Whitney, who, in his 
geological description of the State, 
and more especially in his several 
Yosemite guidebooks, has contributed 
more than any other scientist to the 
literature of California, is to be com- 
pared as a writer to Mr. Muir, from 
whom, however, he differs in many 
essentiiil particulars. Both have the 
faculty of clothing exact scientific 
description in the most graceful, feli- 
citiou^and poetical of girments. But, in the case of Professor Whitney, the 
saieatist had spoiled the colorist, and, in an extensive perusal of his pages, there 
is developed a certain dry, and, as it were, scientific repetition of poetic thought. 
"Mr. Clarence King, who, as a Sierra traveler, was a contemporary of Mr, 
Muir and Professor Whitney, was a fair example of a scientist gone poetry- 
mad, and, moreover, and more deplorable, fiction-mad. His tendency to invest 




JOHN MUIR. 



156 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



his peaks, domes and canyons with forms and dimensions which Nature has 
denied them is observed in striking contrast to the faithful, loving fidelity of Mr. 
Muir's descriptive statements. 

" Mr. Hutch ings' several books upon Sierra scenery and history claim 
little attention in a general comparison, for, unlike Muir, Whitney and King, Mr. 
Hutchings was not an explorer and did little in the way of original description. 
His chief merit as a writer may fairly be said to consist rather in a capacity of 
appreciation than in an ability to create. 

''Mr. Muir's style is considered by some to be over-florid. But there is 
a sincerity visible throughout his entire work, and it is simply a necessary mani- 
festation of that sincerity that he should describe in generous warmth of feeling 
those scenes upon which Nature has herself lavished such wealth of color, 
beauty and sublimity. There is one peculiarity of John Muir, and it is seen in 
a certain occasional carelessness of rhetoric, or in the repetition of a phrase. 
He speaks out ingeniously to his readers and is never guilty of studied composi- 
tion." 

" Mr. Muir is a scientist, a poet and a painter. From the standpoint of 
style, pure and simple, he has stamped upon his work the impress of the land- 
scape painter. Viewed in the light of his subject he is invariably a poet, and 
not of the barnyard type. His is the almost tragical poetry of the wilderness, of 
the remote solitude, of that sublimity of desolation which hovers in the atmos- 
phere of the naked granite or the slow-moving, eternal ice. Yet he has com- 
plained of no desolation. There is in the poetry of his prose an undercurrent of 
cosmical ethics, the suggestion of a mode of thought, to which the conception of a 
real desolation is utterly inimical. 

" As a scientist he is of a far too active temperament to have stopped short 
at his magazine sketches. On the contrary they would seem to have been rather 
his recreation than his work. There is undoubtedly in manuscript form, or be it 
still in the cerebrum, in every quarter of the scientific globe, material which is 
later to become part of our own vast volume of fact and data. It is hardly likely 
that Muir, during his twenty odd years of exploitive activity, can have failed in 
gathering a generous supply of material which may one day be presented to the 
world between the covers of a volume." — Theodore S. Solomons. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JOHN MUIR. 



Floodstorm in the Sierras 

Glacier, Meadows of - - 

Passes of the Sierra 

Bye-ways of Yosemite ; Bloody Canyon 

Hetch Hetchy Valley 

Wild Sheep of California 

Wild Sheep of California 

In Heart of California Alps 

Snow Banners of California Alps - 

Bee Pastures of California 





Vol. 


Page. 


( Overland) 


xiv 


489 


[Seribner' n) 


xvii 


478 


{Scribner's) 


xvii 


644 


( Overland) 


viii 


347 


( Overland) 


xi 


42 


( Overland) 


xii 


358 


[Seribner'' s) 


xxii 


1 


{Scribner's) 


XX 


345 


[Harper's) 


Iv 


162 


[Century) 


ii 


222-388 



THE OVERLAND SCHOOL. 



157 



(Harper's) 


Ivii 


213 


[Overland) 


X 


355 


( Overland) 


ix 


547 


{Scribner's) 


XV 


545 


(Scribner's) 


xviii 


411 


( Harper's) 


Iv 


521 


(Scribner's) 


xvii 


710-921 


Calif oi nian) 


ii 


550 


( Overland) 


xii 


393-489 


( Overland) 


xiii 67, 


174, 393, 500 


( Overland) 


xiv 


65 


(Scribner's) 


xvii 


260 


(Scribner's) 


xi 


139 


( Overland) 


ix 


80 


(Scribner's) 


xvii 


55 



Forests of California ... 

Winter Walk of a Geologist - 

Living Glaciers of California 

Humming Birds of California Waterfalls 

Mountain Lakes of California 

Snow Storm on Mt. Shasta 

(^"oniferous Forests of Sierra 

Ancient GJaciers of Sierras 

Studies in Sierras - - - - 

Studies in Sierras ... 

Glaciers and Glacial Action 

The Douglas Squirrel in California 

Tuolumne Canyon ... 

Trinity Hill Hollow - 

A Winter Storm in the Forests of the Yuba 

And for many years in Evening Bulletin, especially upon Alaska. 

QUOTATION FROM JOHN MUIR. 

"The descent of the King's River streams is mostly made in the form of 
cascades, which are outspread in flat, plume-like sheets on smooth slopes, or are 
squeezed in narrow gorges, boiling, seething, in deep, swirling pools, pouring 
from lin to lin, and breaking into ragged, tossing masses of spray and foam in 
boulder-choked canyons — miking marvelous mixtures with the downpouring sun- 
beams, displaying a thousand forms and colors, and giving forth a variety of wild 
mountain melody, which, rolling from side to side against the echoing cliffs, is at 
length combined into one massy, sea-like roar." — John Muir. 

One of the best known of the short-story writers in the 
Overland was James W. Gaily. 
He was born in Wheeling, 
West Virginia, in 1828, and 
died October 5, 1891, in Wat- 
sonville, where he was pro- 
fessionally a physician. He 
wrote for the Virginia Enter- 
prise, Sacramento Union, San 
Francisco Argonaut, the San 
Francisco Wasp, the Califor- 
nian and the Overland. 

His writings best known to 
the public were "Shacklefoot 
Sam," "Big Jack Small," 
"Sand," "Frozen Truth" 
and a story entitled ' ' Quartz, ' ' 




JAMKS W. GALLY. 



^^S 



CALUVKMAN WKITKKS ANP I.ITKK ATIKK. 



which appeared in a vohime ot" "Short Stories by Califoniian 
Writers. " issued by the GoUien Kra Company in 1SS5. In 
answer to the question as to the prevailing motive which lei.i him 
to write. Dr. Gully answenxl : "First, applause : secvMul. glory : 
thin.!, grub." His style of writing is totally tree from aftectation. 
is very simple and direct. His themes are nn^vstly of the early 
Californian miner — revealing the weaknesses mercilessly, but 
never failing to portray the compens;^tory qualities of that savl 
and luckless forerunner of our civilization. Of his story. "Big 
Jack Small." publisheil in the c>:r/Ai«</, Benjamin P. Avery 
said: "It is a vivid life sketch, not Bret Hartish. but from 
Nature itself. It has all the realism and the humor, too. of a 
good Dutch picture." His story of "Sand" also made a deep 
impression, and "Quartz" has not been forgotten, though it is 
fragiuentary and broken. It is of a drunken miner, who receive* 
a letter from his little daughter, telling of the death of her 
mother and asking to be alloweil to cvnue out from the East and 
live with him. He tries to sober up and goes to work. He gets 
hurt in the mine and dies. That is all there is to the story, but 
it is real and genuine. 

Josephine Cliftord ^^McCrackin"* was K^ni in Prussia, but 
came to the I'nittxl States in her babyhovxl and gTcvv up in St. 

Louis. Mo., coming to California 
in iSo;. She is now a typioil 
rancher's wife in the Santa Cruz 
mountains. California, but is 
still eng^igevl in literature in a 
desultory way. In the early 
days she traveled thrv>ngh New 
^•exia> and Lower California, 
.d wrc»te for Harper Brothers, 
atterwani for the OztfiitfiJ. 
These stories were published in 
1871 in book form, under the 
title of "Overland Tales. ' 
She has quite a grace in pi^>r- 
traying the women amid the rough surrv^unding^ and rough ele- 
ments of that time, which gives a historical \'alue to her stories. 




JOSKPHINK CLIKFORD. 



Till'; o\i:ki.ani> sciiooi,. 



»59 



Ilor style is clear ami vij;orous, her plots viviil ami original. 
" I.a Graciosa " contains a pretty pictuie ol" the earlier times, 
"Jiianita" is weird and stranv;c; " 'iMie C^Mitlenian From 
Siski3on " has a pathetic toucli; " Tokoi Jim " is a tragedy; "It 
Occurred at Tucson" contains a graphic picture of Arizona 
deserts. No better work of the kiml is to be found tVotn an\ 
woman writer's pen in California. 

Relating to her stories, Hubert II. Hancroft says : 

". Josephine riillortl lias been among the liappiest eoi\trihutors of short 
tales, based on pei-sonal observations in Arizona and C'alilomia. The Mexiean 
popidation takes a [uonunent plaee in the stirring ii\eidents ilepieted, and share 
in the neat bits ol" eharaeter portraval, whieh, together with the sfjirit of narra- 
tion antl smoothness o( liietion, impart an untla»;ging interest." 

Frances F. \'ictor is the one woman of the Ovcr/iu/i/ school 
who devoted herself to literature professionally. She has pub- 
lished many volumes, bright and entertaining, with also those of 
a more substantial quality. Hubert Howe Bancroft has tiatneil 
Mrs. Victor among the able corps of assistants who worked under 
his diiection upon the volumes now known as the " Bancroll His- 
tories." From the early 
days of the Go/ii/en Knx, 
when she wrote bright let- 
ters for its colunuis, to the 
present time, the name of 
Frances F\ Victor is found 
in nearly all the firsl-elass 
publications on the coast. 

Mrs. \'ictor was born in 
Rome, N. Y., but coming- 
to California when quite 
young-, spent many years in 
San F>ancisco. Since iS68 
she has dwelt in Oregon, 
and devoted herself to the 
study of the salient points of the history of that State. " The 
River of the West was an account of the American lur com- 
panies in the Rocky Mountains. "All Over Oregon and Wash- 
ington/' appeared in 1S72. "The New Penelope and Other 




l-KANCKS V. VICTOR. 



l6o CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Stories" is a collection of studies of early Californian and 
Oregon life, notably the one entitled "Sam Rice's Romance." 
The early atmosphere is part and parcel of these tales, which, like 
those of Josephine Clifford, have a historical value. In several 
instances, where published in the Overland unsigned, they were 
afterward copied in the East and Bret Harte's name appended as 
the author. 

Mrs. Victor's work for Bancroft upon the "Oregon His- 
tories " occupied a number of years, and finally she published 
her last work in 1891. It is entitled "Atlantis Arisen, or Talks 
of a Tourist About Washington and Oregon." 

One da)', many years ago, perhaps it was in 1870, my 
mother, who was gifted in literary matters and wrote beautifully 
herself, called the children around her to listen to a wonderful 
piece of word painting which she had found in the morning 
paper — the Sacramento Record. My brothers and sisters gathered 
around and together we listened. And then she told us that it 
was written by a woman — Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor. Years 
after, when I sought to find something that would properly repre- 
sent this writer, the memory of that scene returned to me. I 
wrote to Mrs. Victor, but she had never seen the paragraphs in 
print, though they had been written by her to serve as an intro- 
duction to a volume the name of which she had forgotten, and 
she never knew the ultimate fate of the "picture." Nothing 
else of hers satisfied me. I wondered if it were a childish 
glamor that made the article of long ago seem so beautiful to me. 
I sought for it, and, by the aid of a gentleman employed by Mr. 
Bancroft, found its whereabouts in the introduction to " Califor- 
nia Biography," by Phelps. 

It is here presented as an example of Mrs. Victor's power of 
imagery. 

" Look on this picture, then on that." 

I have thought how, if I were a painter, I would personate California. 
She should be a girlisli Cleopatra ; large, supple-limbed, dusky-browed ; fiery, 
yet indolent ; voluptuous, yet unconscious ; intellectually a queen ; really a 
dreaming, romantic maiden. Her throne should be the russet-colored hills ; her 
mantle the violet haze. Her girdle should be gold, her sceptre silver, and her 
crown the native hay, mingled with wild oats and golden poppies. Behind her 
throne should tower the grand Sierras ; at her feet should murmur the blue 



The overland school. i6i 

PaciBc, stretching far away to where, on the horizon, a white winged fieet fixed 
the dreamy look in the lustrous dark eyes of my girl queen. 

But opposite to it I would have my Cleopatra's Antony. Young, lithe, 
strong and beautiful, with Empire written on his brow, and power, tempered by 
mildness, beaming from his eyes. Of fair complexion, he, with tawny blonde 
hair and curling golden beard. His robe should be of the richest purple, 
embroidered with wheat ears, and his crown of burnished gold. His throne 
ahould be amidst the rugged mountains, with rolling yellow plains on one hand 
and smiling green valleys on the other. His sceptre, shaped like the tapering 
fir trees, should be of silver, set with opals, garnets and diamonds. At his feet 
should roll the magnificent Columbia, while in the distance mighty ships should 
seek its entrance, and over its shoulder the white crest of Mount Hood stands 
blushing in a rosy sunset. So would I personate the young giant, Oregon. — 
Frances F. Victor. 

I^aura lyyon White wrote a number of interesting stories, 
which are well remembered for their descriptive power. 

Therese Yelverton wrote a novel entitled " Zanita ; a 
Romance of the Yo Semite Valley." Not long ago I heard 
Mr. Hutchings, author of "The Heart of the Sierras," telling the 
charming story of Mrs. Yelverton, or the Countess of Avonmore 
as she was called, and of her characteristics, in that inimitable 
manner that belongs to Mr. Hutchings alone. Softened by the 
mists of 3'ears and hallowed by the memories of youth, in his 
recital the countess takes a more than human beauty and perfec- 
tion. As he told of taking her, in San Francisco, to see the play, 
" Man and Wife," which is said to have been founded upon her 
own experience with English courts, and as he portrayed the 
emotion which overcame her and the silvery tears which fell as 
she clasped her hands in throes of anguish, I was quite carried 
away with the picture. Not so, however, with certain other 
auditors of the the florid tale of Latter-Day-Minstrel Hutchings. 
One lady sat with uncompromising expression of countenance 
which told of her disapproval louder than words. When he had 
finished she said, "I never did approve of those gushing, hys- 
terical creatures, ' ' Since then the picture of Mrs. Yelverton has 
lost much of its attraction. \"iewed from the common-sense 
point of view, I am afraid she was a little queer, and something of 
a problem to those who tried to befriend her. 

One of the most distinguished of the women writers of the 
Overland was Georgiana Bruce Kirby. The papers she con^ 



l62 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



tributed were upon the subject of " Brook Farm " and the inter- 
esting people who dwelt there, most of whom were personal 
friends of hers. She was a woman of most remarkable experi- 
ences. Born in Bristol, England, iSiS, she came to America as 
governess when but i6 3-ears of age. In Boston she mingled 
with the early Unitarians and Abolitionists, afterward teaching 
in the South, and in 1850 coming to California. Soon after her 
arrival she was married to R. C. Kirby, and lived the rest of her 
life quietly in Santa Cruz. No 
one who ever met Mrs. Kirby 
could forget her. She was a 
woman with a mind and a heart. 
From her childhood she troubled 
everyone with her question, 
' ' Wh}' ? ' ' upon all the accepted 
dogmas of the church. As she 
grew older this questioning be- 
came applied to the social prob- 
lems of the times, and bravely 
she entered the front ranks and 
applied her powers to the smooth- 
ing away of many wrongs. 
Assisting the matron in her duties at the prison at Sing Sing, in 
the woman's ward, when but a j-oung woman herself, she passed 
through a peculiar experience. She obtained there an insight 
into humane methods of treating the criminal classes, which 
forty years later have onlj^ begun to be introduced. She was 
timid physically, but was possessed of great moral courage. She 
was of a most sensitive nature, and most just. 

One of Mrs. Kirbj^'s chief characteristics was her affection 
for young people, for whom, from the fullness of her heart and 
mind, she was always striving to do something. To uplift them 
and coax them upon a higher plane of intellectual growth was 
her great delight, teaching them music and French without any 
thought of compeusation, but merely from the love of it. 

" Transmission " is the title of a little volume from her pen, 
touching upon the natural laws of life and containing motherly 
words of wisdom. 




GEORGIAN.^ BRUCK KIRBV. 



THE OVERI.AND SCHOOI,. 



163 



She published also another work containing the history of 
her life. This was issued in 1887, the same year that she died. 
This volume is one of the most readable books produced by a 
Californian woman. The style is concise and strong, while the 
study of that singular change in public opinion, which takes 
place as the century passes by, is vividly portrayed. " Years of 
Experience " is a remarkable book in this particular, and worthy 
of being preserved, as it has a historical value. The only regret 
is, that Mrs. Kirby never committed to paper her Californian 
reminiscences, which would be excellent material for the historian, 
owing to her correctness of vision and her logical working of 
mind. 

Louise Palmer Heaven, besides her short articles for the 
early Overland, has written a charming continued story for the 
\2X^x Overland. It is entitled " Chata and Chinita," and has 
since appeared in book form. This is said to be one of the most 
popular of the Californian books at the Mechanics' Library of 
San Francisco, being called for more than any other of the vol- 
umes thus produced by writers in or of California. 

The best known of our woman writers, in a personal way, 

is Mrs. Sarah B. Cooper, whose 
name in connection with the 
kindergarten system of San 
Francisco has become cele- 
brated. She was one of the 
writers on the early Overland, 
and edited the magazine and 
prepared the book reviews 
from 1871-1874. She is nat- 
urally a student of the phil- 
osophical and metaphysical, 
and writes alwaj's from the 
serious point of view. She is 
endowed, however, with a 
strong sense of humor, which 
lightens and brightens the 
context of her writing. Of later years she has devoted herself 
to the compiling of kindergarten reports and writing for religious 




■ ARAH r.. c>)i)ri.;R. 



164 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I,ITERATURE 

journals, and the usual addresses and poems of occasion, and 
directing the great body of teachers connected with the kinder- 
garten work of San Francisco. She is an admirable business 
woman, prompt and capable in everything she attempts to do, 
and has distributed enormous sums of money for the welfare of 
the children of San Francisco. 

Her writings have a certain grace and charm, but they are 
not equal to her spoken words, which are delivered with good 
taste and even eloquence. Few women have so charming an 
address as has Mrs. Cooper. 

She has kindly written a sketch upon the '' Overland 
School " of writers, which is here presented : 

EARLY OVERLAND FILES. 

" It was early in the Spring of 1869, just after the opening of the Trans- 
continental Railroad, on the first through train, that we — my husband, daughter 
and myself — made our way to the Mecca of our hopes — San Francisco. Just 
after leaving Cheyenne, that peripatetic wanderer, the newsboy, was triumph- 
antly welcomed by the passengers of our improvised " sleeper " — not a Pullman, 
by any manner of means — and his stock in trade was at once sold out at marvel- 
ously high prices. I well remember with what ecstatic delight I settled down in 
our primeval, circumscribed seats, to devour the contents of the latest number of 
the Overland Monthly, a magazine that I had never before seen. I recall, as 
distinctly as if it were but yesterday, some of the articles of that number. 

" I perfectly understand what is meant by the expressions often used in 
regard to Californian literary productions, where it is said ' They have a Cali- 
fornia flavor,' ' They are like a breeze from the woods,' ' They have about them a 
Western aroma.' I felt all this as I eagerly perused this fascinating journal. I 
came to an instant resolve, to know as many of these charming writers as possible. 
From that day to this I have kept my resolution. 

"Circumstances soon threw me into official relation with the Overland — a 
relation that was maintained for a number of years. During that period I met 
many of its contributors, and became familiar with the writings of all whose 
articles appeared in the magazine. Bret Harte, whose 'Luck of Roaring Camp,' 
'Tennessee's Partner,' and 'Heathen Chinee' had given him a woi'ld-wide fame, 
had gone East, but he sent back ' The Christmas Gift that Came to Robert ' for 
the Holiday number, and it was copied far and wide. Joaquin Miller's articles, 
in prose and poetry, were eagerly sought ; the graphic, vigorous style, and the 
fresh descriptive power giving them a general welcome. His ' Isles of the 
Amazons' and ' In Yosemite Valley' gave him a national fame. Faithful among 
the faithful in these earlier days of the Overland was Charles Warren Stoddard, 
whose 'South Sea Bubbles,' 'Fete Day in Tahiti,' and many other South Sea 
Island sketches have found a large sale in permanent book form. There was a 



THE OVERI.AND SCHOOL. 165 

pleasant vein of humor, seasoned with philosophy, in the writings of Mr. Stoddard. 

" Whodoes not remember Prentice Mulford, with his ' Buster— King Solo- 
mon Mine,' and ' Twenty Years From Home ' ? These were but samples of his 
quick, bright, incisive way of dealing with things. Then we had also the 
gossipy, chatty style of Daniel O'Connell, as in ' The Thrust in Tierce,' or the 
tender, heart-reaching poetic plaint, as of ' With the Dead.' 

" The first article that I ever read in the Overland was ' Spilled Milk,' by 
Mi's. James Neall, whose exquisite humor bubbles out in all her writings, giving 
them a piquant flavor from begiiming to end. 'Patty Dree, Schoolmarm, and 
' Placer,' are fair examples of her fascinating style. Of Ina Coolbrith, whose 
exquisite poems graced the pages of every number of the magazine, it is not 
necessary to speak. These poems have made her immortal. Mrs. Frances Fuller 
Victor, Mrs. Laura Lyon White, Mrs. M. L. Hoffman, Amalie LaForge, Therese 
Yelverton, and Mrs. M. V. Lawrence were often heard from in these early days, 
and were sure of an audience. E. G, Waite wielded a strong pen that could, on 
occasion, prove as keen as a Damascus blade. In all his writings one feels the 
force of an active, energized mentality. Captain C. M. Scaramon's ' Pacific f3ea 
Coast Views,' 'About the Shores of Puget Sound,' and ' Coast and Northern 
Whaling ' aroused much local pride and interest and won for him the warm 
comments of the press. 'Universal Language' and 'The Newspaper of the 
Future ' gives an idea of his compact, suggestive style and his mastery of fine, 
«legant diction. John Muir illumined the pages of the Overland, now and again, 
with articles that were widely copied, like "The Great Tuolumne Canyon,' 
' Twenty Hill Hollow,' and 'A Geologist's Winter Walk ' — articles of rare and 
exceptional value, well calculated to stimulate thought and investigation. Rt. 
Rev. Wm. Ingraham Kip contributed a series of papers on 'Early Jesuit Missions 
in Lower California,' and ' Cape Horn in 1704,' which possessed much historic 
value and evolved much pleasant criticism. Then there was J. Ross Browne, 
who told the world of the 'Agricultural capacity of California ; ' Stephen Powers, 
who wrote of ' The California Indians ; ' D. C. Gilman, the then President of the 
University of California, who furnished valuable and timely articles on ' The 
Japanese Indemnity Fund ' and ' The Building of the University ; ' Professor 
J. D. Whitney of the State Geological Survey, who wrote scientifically and his- 
torically of ' The Owens Valley Earthquake ; ' Henry George on ' How Jack 
Breeze Missed Being a Pasha,' and Taliesin Evans on ' Indifferent Metallurgy.' 
Along the line of historical, scientific and educational papers of conceded value 
were contributions from such well-known writers as Professor Louis Agassiz, 
D. Walker, M. D,, Peter Toft, Horace Davis, Rev. S. H. Willey. D. D., Rev. A. 
W. Loomis, D. D., General John W. Ames, Dr. J. D. B. Stillman, Noah 
Brooks, James D. Hague, John Hayes, Henry G. Hanks, James F. Bowman, 
John C. Cremony, Henry Robinson, John De Groot, Andrew J. Grayson, Dr. T. 
L. ver Liehr and William Hammond Hall. 

" W. C. Bartlett, who edited the Overland for several years, contributed a 
series of articles that possessed much of the flavor of that sort of humor which 
characterizes the writings of Charles Dudley Warner. B. P. Avery, who suc- 
■ceeded Mr. Bartlett as editor, will always be remembered for his cultured vigor, 



1 66 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

his warm sympathy with nature and with human life, and his modest but finished 
literary excellence. With Mr. Avery's appointment as Minister to China, the 
Overland of the early days may be said to have 'passed away,' only to be resur- 
rected into a new life, the history of which will be left to better hands than mine. 

"The limits of this article do not permit the mention of many other able 
writers whose papers graced the Overland of early days, which John H. Carmany 
heroically and nobly struggled to carry forward, without regard to the heavy 
pecuniary loss to himself. And this he did, with full knowledge of the fact that 
the A. Roman Publishing Company, which first published the magazine, had 
suffered heavy loss in this new literary venture on this western coast. 

" All honor to those sturdy pioneers, who, with self-sacrificing zeal and 
devotion, open up a primeval croft, whether in the physical, mental or moral 
wilderness, thus making it richer and brighter for those who follow after them." 
— Sarah B. Cooper. 




HOBEHT H. 



BflflCHOFT RH1D BflHCROFT'S 
HlSTOf^IES. 



History of Central America, 

History of Mexico, 

History of the North American States 
and Texas, 

History of Arizona and New Mexico, 

History of California, 

History of Nevada, Wyoming and Colo- 
rado, 

History of Utah, 

History of the Northwest Coast, 

History of Oregon, 



History of Washington, Idaho and Mon- 
tana, 

History of Uritiish Columbia. 

History of Alaska, 

Chronicles of the Builders of the Com' 
monwealth, 

Californian Pastoral, 

Californian Inter Pocida, 

Popular Tribunals, 

Essays and Miscellany, 

Literary Industries. 



The most notable contribution to the Californian store of 
knowledge has been made by the Bancroft series of histories. 
As it has taken a compact volume of 400 pages to tell the 
processes by which this exhaustive work has been accomplished, 
it is not likely that a chapter can give more than a brief mention. 
The first process necessary to the preparation of these thirty-nine 
volumes was the collecting of a special library of 50,000 manu- 
scripts and books from all the book centers of the world. Next 
an ingenious method of indexing the contents of these volumes 
was contrived, then an assimilation of all this information thus 
obtained. In reckoning up the labor spent upon one series, that 
of the " Native Races," consisting of five volumes, it was found 
that there was in each of the five the work of fifteen men for 
eight months, or of one man for ten years, or upon the five 
volumes labor equivalent to the well-directed efforts of one man, 
every day, Sundays excepted, from eight o'clock in the morning 
till six at night, for a period of fifty years. Says Mr. Bancroft 
in his " L,iterary Industries " : 

"Fifty years! I had not so many to spare on this work. Possibly I 
might die before the time had expired or the volumes were completed ; and 



1 68 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



what should I do with the two or three hundred years additional wotk that was 
already planned.' 

For Mr. Bancroft had come under the fascination of his 
librar}^ He had worked out a classification of the histories of 
the dififerent epochs and races of the western coast of America — 
and when a man has reached the classifying state of mind upon 
any one subject he becomes morbid. Mr. Bancroft was morbid 
on the subject of histories, with all this wealth before him, un- 
get-at-able and unreachable. 

"Heaps and heaps of diamonds and sawdust; good gold and genuine 
silver, pearls and oyster shells, copper and iron mixed with refuse and debris — 
such was the nature and condition of my collection in 1869, before any consider- 
able labor had been bestowed upon it. »Surrounded by these accumulations I sat 
in an embarrassment of wealth. Chaf^' and wheat; wheat, straw and dust; 
where was the brain or score of brains to do the winnowing?" 

Thus it w^as that Mr. Bancroft surrounded himself with a 
corps of assistants and trained them into lines which should pro- 
duce the greatest results in 
the briefest space of time. 
He gives the names of these 
assistants in the volume 
entitled "Literary Indus- 
tries." Some of these 
names are as follows : 

Henry L. Oak, Enrique 
Cerruti, William Nemos, 
Edward F. Murray, Mrs. 
Frances F. A'ictor, Thomas 
Savage, Thomas H. Long, 
Ellwood Evans, Montgom- 
ery, PetroflF and others. 

A great deal of profitless 
discussion has arisen as to 
which part of these books 
belongs to these different 
assistants and what part to Mr. Bancroft. Those are questions 
which probably never will be answered. Those who are in a 
position to know prefer to keep silent, and those who, not know- 




IIUBHKT II. BAXCROJ T. 



HUBERT H. BANCROFT AND BANCROFT'S HISTORIKS. 169 

iug, yet venture opinions upon the subject, are very apt to mis- 
state the items in every instance. 

The one fact remains, that Mr. Bancroft had the power of 
imparting his desires to these assistants, and of imbuing them 
with his own morbid instinct for history. There was scarcely 
one who did not love the work — it was not merely perfunctory. 
There were some who gave up their lives to the pursuit of the 
idea, and now, in after years, find their physical systems shat- 
tered. And yet each one has a fondness for the great work which 
in part he helped to make. 

To the student it is a matter of total indifference whence 
came the series of histories. The chief question is, are they 
correct? Are they true? Are they of value in facts, dates and 
coloring? Or are they prejudiced, biased and without critical 
value ? Are they the expression of one man's mind, and that 
mind lacking the judicial instinct or not? I claim that these 
questions cannot be answered now. It is too soon. There are 
too many conflicting popular opinions in the atmosphere at the 
present time for us to be able to say which is absolutely the 
correct one. But this is no reason why I should omit to present 
the opinions of others, whether they be judicial or not. There 
is a prevailing opinion in the community which cannot be 
ignored, much as we desire lo close our ears to the unwelcome 
sound. Therefore I shall present a critical estimate of the Ban- 
croft histories, because I believe it right to do so. 

It has been a disappointment in my study of men to find 
that few of them are great enough to endure anything but the 
"crown of praise." Whereas, we know we often criticise a 
thing that is so good that we feel it ought to be better. For mj^ 
own part, I wish to add to the criticism below, that the volume 
entitled the " Chronicles of the Builders " would be of more value 
if it included among the other portraits, one of Broderick. 

Not wishing to submit an individual opinion alone, and feel- 
ing that Mr. Bancroft is great enough to endure a little criticism, 
I quote from a cotemporary review ; 

"Mr. Bancroft is a curious contradiction. He is one of the few examples 
of men who unite remarkable business ability and great literary aptitude. By 
his skill in forecasting the demands of trade he built up in twenty years the 



lyo CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

largest bookselling and publishing business in California, and he did his work in 
the face of the keenest rivalry. While he was devoting many hours every day 
to this business he used his leisure for the collection of books bearing on early 
Californian literature and exploration. With his unrivaled facilities and his 
ample means, this library of California soon became large and valuable. Then 
it occurred to Mr. Bancroft to put some of this material in shape for the future 
Iiistorian. He employed several amanuenses to extract and translate portions of 
the volumes that he indicated, and out of this crude plan finally grew the 
"Native Races of the I'acific Coast," a work which has proved a storehouse of 
valuable material for many writers on ethnologj^ and sociology, including Her- 
bert Spencer, St. George Mivart and others. The success of this work, which 
was issued in several volumes, induced Mr. Bancroft to set about writing the 
liistory of the Pacific States. He sent out agents and purchased everything that 
could be bought on the coast that bore upon early exploration and history 
Books and manuscript material were found in the most unpromising fields ; the 
Mexican archives were thrown open to the historian; the padres of the decayed 
Franciscan missions helped in saving the remnants of their records. In tliis 
way was gathered the great library which now numbers over 60,000 volumes and 
fully as many pamphlets — one of the most valuable collections of early Ameri- 
cana in this country or in the world. So far as the history of California is con- 
cerned, the collection is as complete as money and labor can make it, and it is 
absolutely unique, for no future gleaner can hope to secure such treasures as Mr. 
Bancroft obtained. Mr. Bancroft spent a large sum in order to make a complete 
catalogue of this historical material. Then he employed a number of competent 
assistants, who prepared a rough draft of the history of the various countries 
that he selected — Mexico, Central America, all the Pacific States and Territories 
and Alaska. No one man could have finished unaided mire than a quarter of 
this enormous work. Mr. Bancroft's part in it lay in careful revision and in the 
writing of portions in which he took a deep interest. The result is that the style 
is uneven and the work is open to the charge of unfairness and lack of propor- 
tion. Certain prejudices of the historian are unduly exploited, such as his anti- 
Catholic feeling and his partiality for the Chinese and the Mormons. It seems 
to be a characteristic of Mr. Bancroft to champion the cause of any people or 
sect that is attacked, but he made an unwise choice when he selected the 
followers of Confucius and of Brigham Young for his eulogy. The highest 
praise of Bancroft's work that one can make is that it shows a great eftbrt to 
state the facts correctly and to settle any historical controversies. As history 
most of the work is worthless because it is not cast in a form that will live. As 
an illustration of the wide diflerence between Bancroft's work and real history, 
compare Parkman's histories with Bancroft's. Parkman worked under many 
disadvantages, but he possessed the literary faculty, and though he had an 
enormous mass of matter to digest, he finally reduced it to such form that his 
volumes on the French conquests in the New "World will always remain a stand- 
ard work, and will be read with as much relish by scholars at the end of the 
next century a^ by those of to-day. Bancroft's work in twenty years will be con- 
sulted by students, but it will not be read by the general public." 



HUBERT H. BANCROFT AND BANCROFT'S HISTORIES. 171 

The Student of twenty years from now will doubtless appre- 
ciate more than the student of to-day the value of the Bancroft 
histories. For it is as an advance guard, dealing with the terrific 
obstacles of a new and unknown territory, breaking ground and 
blazing the way for others to follow, that the work of these vol- 
umes will doubtless be viewed. The industry, the consecutive- 
ness of purpose, the classifying instinct necessary — all these 
qualifications are admirable. And, as my own individual opinion, 
I wish to say that the volume " Literary Industries " is a delight- 
ful story. This, I am informed b}^ one who knows, is the work 
of Mr. Bancroft himself, and, indeed, no one else could have so 
written of the inner feelings and emotions of so pronounced a 
man. Epigram glistens throughout the course of the narrative, 
and apt sentences sparkle on every page. 

" A worn-out world is reanimated as it slowly migrates toward the setting 
sun." 

" Visit a man in his hours devoted to business ; he knits his brows if the 
interruption lasts. His time is precious ? Yes. How much is it worth? Fifty 
dollars — five hundred dollars an hour. How much are fifty or five hundred 
dollar's worth ? Go to, blind maggot I Will you not presently have millions of 
years of leisure ? " 

Speaking of the arrival of the forty-niners, Mr. Bancroft 
says : 

" It was no pilgrim band ; not an expedition for dominance or territory 
nor was it a missionary enterprise, nor a theoretical republic. It was a stampede 
of the nations, a hurried gathering in a magnificent wilderness for purposes of 
immediate gain by mining for gold. * * * The literary atmosphere of 
which we speak is not here to-day ; but hither the winds are wafting it. All 
knowledge and all human activities are placed under contribution, and out of 
this alembic will be distilled the fine gold of letters." 

The paragraphs devoted to telling of the great fire in 1886, 
which consumed the Bancroft building and the material therein 
stored, are most pathetic . 

"I was now reaching the point where I felt it absolutely necessary to rest, 
or I must succumb entirely, through simple failure of strength and endurance. 
* * * The full effect of this calamity flashed through my brain in an 
instant. * * * Xhe results of thirty years of labor and economy, of 
headaches and heartaches, eaten up by fire in an hour. * * * Suddenly 



172 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

office, stock, paper, correspondence, printing jiresses, types and plates, and the 
vast book-bindery, tilled witli sheets and books in every style of binding, were 
blotted out, as if seized by Satan and pulled into the jaws of hell. * * * I 
felt sad to think that 1 had no longer a stake in this proud and wealthy city. 
It was heavily mortgaged for money with which to print and publish my works. 
* * * And now it must all go into the capacious maw of some one not 
foolish enough to write and publish history. 

"It makes one's heart sore thus to walk about old familiar haunts and feel 
one's self a thing of the past. Neither the streets nor the sunshine have the 
same signiticance as formerly. They are not my streets; it is not my sunshine: 
I am an interloper here ; I am the ghost of a dead man stalking about the places 
formerly frequented while living. 

" What a blessing your library was not burned I " * * * Blessing I 
There was no blessing about it. It was altogether a curse ; and, of a truth, I 
should almost have felt relieved if the library had gone too, and so brought my 
career to a close. * * * j ^as tired, as I said. I could easily sink out 
of sight and lie at rest beside my sepulchered hopes. * * * But I bad 
never been accustomed to the easiest way, or to regard my pleasure as the tirst 
consideration in life. To do as best I was able, every day and every hour, the 
thing nearest to me to be done, whether I liked it or not — that had been the 
unwritten code by which I regulated my conduct. And whether I would or not. 
and all without knowing it, I could now no more deviate from that course than I 
could change my nature. * * * Then I determined to go on and rebuild, 
and at once began to do so. * '^ * Two years and $12,000 were the time 
and money estimated as necessary to complete the history, but both time and 
money were nearly doubled before the end came." 

While these agonies of heart and mind were going on in the 
owner of the burning building, all unknown to the great unthink- 
ing public, the grainmarless youngsters of San Francisco were 
telling of the incidents of that night, and still tell the tale. 
"You ought to seen them gargoyles dancin' around in the fire. 
They looked as if thej' was men gittin' burned alive." 

The "History Building," a massive structure of stone, now 
stands upon the spot where the gargoyles of the old building 
were consumed in the flames. 







i^Ki^ '-a) 



HEjSlRV GEORGE. 

POliITICMlJ ECOflOlVIIST. 
1880. 

" lie needed tlie rich suggestions of tlie new country to teacli him the heights 
and depths of the great problem he lias solved." — Gertrude Franklin Aiherlon. 

The following sketch has been written for the Californian 
Story of the Files by Dr. Edward R. Taylor, a personal friend 
of Henry George. 

Mr. George, so far as we are aware, is the only distinctively Californian 
writer who has produced anything considerable on the subject of political econ- 
omy, while in that field he has achieved a world-wide reputation. Indeed, his 
main work ("Progress and Poverty") has been translated into nearly all the 
European languages, and has had a circulation far beyond that of any 
book of the kind ever published. Nor does interest in it seem to fade. It has 
now been before the public for nearly thirteen years, and not only is the sale of 
it still large, but the interest awakened by it has not died out, nor is it likely to 
die out. For, in truth, this book was an epoch-making one. It attracted atten- 
tion to the land question in a way so commanding and so persuasive, so original 
and so penetrating, so eloquent and so sincere, that this cpiestion, in its funda- 
mentals, began lo be incjuired into as never before; and that inquiry must go on 
and on, until radical remedies are finally eflected. That Mr. (ieorge was original 
in the truest sense there can be no doubt. The great truths which lie at the 
basis of his work have always been seen more or less dimly by the great masses of 
men, and more or less clearly by the thinking few; but even if it be conceded — 
which is certainly a great concession — that Mr. George saw the truth no more 
clearly than others, yet it remains, that he is the only one who has made others 
see it as clearly as himself; he is the only one who has stirred the hearts of men 
on the subject, and he is the only one who has proposed the one simple remedy 
of ta.xation of land values, irrespective of improvements on the land and irre- 
spective of whether the land be agricultural or city land. 

This is not the place to review the book, nor to state its importance as 
dealing with what, looked at from the standpoint of any philosophy, must neces- 
sarily be one of the greatest questions, if not the very greatest material and 
social question, which can engage the attention of man — to wit, the land (piestion. 
It is enough to say that to this question Mr. George has addressed himself in 



174 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



such fashion as to place him at the head of all living writers in the same field. 
In addition to " Progress and Poverty," he has published " Protection or Free 
Trade," which in a most striking collateral way illrstrates his main work; 
*' Social Problems;"' " The Condition of Labor," being an open letter to Pope Leo 
XIII on the land question; and "A Perplexed Philosopher," which latter, as its 
sub-title indicates, is "An examination of Mr. Herbert Spencer's various utter- 
ances on the land question, with some incidental reference to his Synthetic 
Philosophy." He has also written and published minor works on the land ques- 
tion, one of which, "Our Land and Land Policy," was the precursor of the book 
which made him famous. 

In all of these writings we have a closeness of reasoning, a force of argu- 
mentation and a richness of illustration, which not only comport with the theme, 

but which enforce it in a most 
powerful and engaging way, and 
which become all the more pow- 
erful and engaging by the lucidity 
and simplicity of the style in 
which they are embodied. In- 
deed, Mr. George is far more than 
a political economist who writes 
originally and strongly on his 
special subject; he is a literary 
artist as well, and as a mere writer 
of good English deservedly takes 
high rank with the best. It has 
been well and truly said of him, 
that he is the single writer who, 
while treating politico-economical 
questions profoundly, has at the 
same time made their treatment 
interesting and pleasant reading. 
Mr. George's work on the plat- 
form deserves some notice. As a 
lecturer he is almost as interesting as he is as a writer. He has appeared on the 
principal platforms of the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland and Aus- 
tralia, and with unvarying success. It has always been his custom to submit 
himself to interrogation at the conclus'on of his lecture, and his apt and ready 
replies on such occasions have not only elicited applause and excited surprise, 
but they have served well to illustrate how completely he is master of his theme, 
and how clearly his thoughts lie in the well of his mind. Not long after the 
publication of " Progress and Poverty," Mr. George made a lecturing tour of the 
three kingdoms, and was everywhere received with great cordiality. The news- 
papers in the provinces reported his lectures in full, and large audiences attended 
them. Since that time he has made other lecturing visits to England and Scot- 
land, and a few years ago, in response to earnest local solicitation, he made a tour 
of the principal cities of Australia, where he lectured with his usual power and 




HENRY GEORGE. 



HENRY GEORGE. 1 75 

success. On his return from Australia, however, it was found that his great and 
persistent labors at the desk and on the platform had so exhausted his nervous 
energies as to make abstention from the platform absolutely imperative. And 
since that time, though he has written much, he has given but few lectures. 

That Mr. George has great and penetrating powers of intellect, which are 
subtile and acute as well, is obvious from his work ; but he has something more. 
He is not one of those thinkers who, by long pondering, has become dry and 
sapless. He has a great heart as well as a great head, and each keeps in tune to 
the other. He himself says that it was the misery of the great city which so 
tugged at his heart as to set his brain in motion toward the cause and remedy. 
And that this is no affectation must be plain from his writings, each page of 
which is aflame with earnestness and all aglow with sincerity. It is this, with 
his manifest flawless honesty, which have so sympathetically commended him to 
his hearers and readers. They at once recognize in him a man who would on 
no account be insincere or dishonest with himself or with them. And, indeed, 
he would not. His friends know this so well that they never feel compelled to 
beat around the bush when he asks their opinion about anything, but frankly 
and openly make reply, no matter how much soever they may be aware that it 
will be at utter variance with his own. No man could preserve friendship with 
him who would not deal openly and frankly with him under any and all circum- 
stances. 

In his daily intercourse with family and friends he is as plain and simple 
as a man could well be, and is the same in his demeanor,'now that he has become 
a celebrity, as when he was a compositor at the case. All kinds of men he has 
met, and they to him are brothers, no matter what their rank may be, high or 
low. He is fond of talking to men and thereby of eliciting from them their experi- 
€nces — which, after all, as Carlyle says, is the really valuable thing which one 
man can give to another. 

Mr. George is a singularly even-tempered man, very abstracted at times, 
but full of good nature and not deficient in humor. His habits are exemplary to 
a degree, and in his family he lacks in nothing that a good liusband and father 
ought to be. 

That he and his work are a great force, and a great force for good, there 
can be no question. No one has argued more strongly than himself against 
socialism and in favor of individualism ; and no one has contended more stren- 
ously for the right of private property — for the right of every man to keep that 
which he acquires, and to keep it without being compelled to pay a part of it as a 
tax to the Government. What he insists upon is that those land values which 
«ach community alone creates should be exclusively drawn upon to pay the 
Government expenses of that community. Whether this contention be right or 
wrong it is not for us in this place to opine, or to argue upon one way or the 
other; but whatever may be the final judgment upon Mr. George's work, of this 
we may be reasonably certain, that it never can be looked upon as being less than a 
great work by a great man, and as having been stimulating in the highest degree 
to the mind and heart of our common humanity. — Edward E. Taylor. 



176 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

The following sketch tells Henry George's personal history : 
Henry George, now recognized as one of the foremost thinkers of the age, 
was born in Philadelphia, September 2, 1839. Leaving school at the age of 13, 
he served a year or two in a counting-house. Re then went to sea, and after 
visiting a number of ports he reached California in the spring of 1858. He 
went to British Columbia during the Frazer River excitement, and then, coming 
back to California, settled down to learn the printing trade. He married shortly 
after attaining his majority, and, with many ups and downs, earned his living as 
a compositor until 1867. AVhen the San Francisco Times started he was given an 
opportunity to do some reportorial work, and showed so much ability that in less 
than six months he was managing editor of that paper. In the winter of 1868-9 
he came to New York to make telegraphic arrangements for one of the papers of 
San Francisco. While in New York he wrote an article on the Chinese question 
for the Tribune, which attracted much attention, especially on the Pacific Coast. 
He returned to California in 1860 and became the editor of the Sacramento 
Reporter, but supporting Governor Haight in his opposition to the railroad sub- 
sidies, the railroad companies managed to depose him by obtaining a controlling 
interest in the paper. They did not, however get control of his pen, and he 
wrote a pamphlet on the subsidy question which excited a profound influence in 
creating such a sentiment that neither party dared to advocate further subsidies. 
This he followed by a larger pamphlet entitled "Our Hand to Hand Policy," in 
which the germ of his now famous book, " Progress and Poverty," is to be found. 
It circulated only on the Pacific Coast, it being Mr. George's intention to write 
a more elaborate work. In 1871 he started the San Francisco Post, which he 
carried to marked success and great influence. But in 1874 a sudden business 
reverse lost Mr. George the control of his paper and the fruit of his toil. Not 
wishing to embark into the newspaper business again until he had done some 
more permanent work, he was appointed by Governor Irwin to a small office 
which gave him leisure, and after some political campaigning and pamphleteer- 
ing, he settled down to his long contemplated task. "Progress and Poverty" 
was written between August, 1877, and March, 1879; but, of course, embodied 
the results of observation, reading and reflection for many previous years. In 
the autumn of 1880 Mr. George came to New York, and, concluding to remain, 
brought on his family. In the spring of 1881, he published a remarkable pam- 
phlet, which, though entitled "The Irish Land Question," is in reality an ar- 
rangement of the existing land system all over the civilized world, and which 
has been extensiveh' circulated on theother sideof the Atlantic. In the summer 
of 1881 Mr. George revisited California, then coming back, went to Ireland and 
England in the thick of the land agitition, corresponding with the Irish World, 
and making a number of speeches on the land question in all three of the king- 
doms. His arrest in Ireland attracted too much attention to require recall. On 
his return to New York he was received by an immense meeting, called by the 
Labor LTnion at Cooper Institute, and was banqueted by a large number of citi- 
zens at Delmonico's. He has since been living quietly, resting from past labors, 
and now and then lecturing to large audiences. He is now contemplating an 
extended lecturing tour. 



AmBHOSH BlEt^CE. 

1866-1893. 

In the files of certain Californian journals and magazines 
there runs a peculiar strain and quality of English which belongs 
to one man alone. It runs through the warp and woof like a 
glittering thread. First it appeared in the ' ' Town Crier ' ' of the 
News Letter, next in the ' ' Grizzly Papers ' ' of the Overland 
Monthly, then in the early pages of the Argonaut, in a depart- 
ment called "Prattle," and others called "Little Johnny" 
and " Zambri, the Parsee." In the P^i^ this same pen leaves 
its glittering trail. And now in the Examiner there is a place 
set apart where this mind may sparkle and gleam at its own free 
will. While every one reads these epigrammatic sentences and 
witty paragraphs, and enjoys the keen, rapier-like cuts of satire 
and the masterly English, yet there are some who tremble and 
are afraid. Corrupt politicians not yet uncovered to the sight of 
their fellow men, hypocritical philanthropists who are working 
for notoriety, self-worshiping egotists, pretenders of every descrip- 
tion, and some times, poor little creatures, the ephemera of the 
hour, are caught on the point of this pen and thrust through. 
As there is more or less vanity abounding, and no one knows 
when his turn is coming next, it is no wonder these utterances 
are read with vague terror and fascination. 

A mighty censor of Californian journalism has been Ambrose 
Bierce. His name is a power. He can make or unmake men 
and women by a word. In his writing he represents that stand- 
ard which is required of the community in morals, manners, 
English and good taste. He extols the modest and brings down 
a pile-driver upon the head of the blatant. He proclaims what 
he considers to be genuine merit, and pours abhorrence upon what 
he considers to be pretension. Perhaps, sometimes, being only 
a mortal, he may use his power to "do up " a personal enemy. 
And perhaps, sometimes, being only human, he may flay the 



178 



CAIvIFORNIAN WRITEKS AND I^ITBRATURE. 



wrong person. But as a whole he represents in Californian 
journalism the nearest approach to a standard of opinion which 
is unbought and unsubsidized. 

From this point of view, therefore, Mr. Bierce occupies a 
position in which he stands alone and unapproached. He was 
born in Ohio, and came to California in 1866. Of him Charles 
Kdwin Markham 
says: 

Bierce is our literary 
Atlas. 

Mrs. Adele Chre- 
tien of the dramatic 
department of the 
Exambicr says: 

I look upon Bierce as 
a literary giant. 1 don't 
think he really means 
to walk rough-shod over 
people any more than a 
lion means to be rough 
with a mouse. It is only 
that the lion wonders 
how anything so small 
can be alive, and he is 
annised at its antics. 

To the volume of 
short stories e n - 
titled "Soldiers 
and Civilians," the 
expression ' ' sculp- 
tured description " has been applied 
George Hamlin Fitch says : 




\MiiROSK bikrce;. 



In his review of this work 



This .book is full of power, brimful of creative imagination, but it is 
absolutely lacking in pathos and tenderness. * * * Endowed with splen- 
did, though morbid imagination, Mr. Bierce forces you to take an interest in 
subjects which would be simply repulsive without the glamor of his style and 
the charm of his narrative. 



AMHKOSE HIKRCE. 179 

Of the volume entitled "Black Beetles in Amber," Arthur 
McEwen says in review : 

Am))ro8e Bicrce han found San FranciKco a niicrocoHtn, and in (laying tlu; 
fools and prctendeiH and villains of this one town, he has flayed the fools and 
villains and pretenders of the world. 

In review of this same volume J. O'llara Cosgrave says : 

The volume is without a replica in literature. Never has any one written 
such scathing satire. He exhausts the verbal possihilities of vituperation, and 
does so in verse that has the crystalline polish of Pope's. Think of being 
gibbeted for posterity. That is what he has done for a handful of venial mil- 
lionaires and corrupt ollicialf. The form and style of these verses is so polished, 
so graceful, that they must live, and the day will come when they will fortu a 
commentary to the history of the State." As a criticism he adds, That there is 
genius in the |)oems admits of n<j contradiction ; hut why immortalize pigmies? 
One might as well shoot at a mouse with a Winchester. 

The beautiful tale of "The Monk and the Hangman's 
Daughter" is a collaboration by G. A. Dantziger and Ambrose 
Bierce, Dr. Dantziger translating the germ of the story from the 
German of Richard Voss and elaborating upon it, and Mr. Bierce 
revising the context. Of this book George Hainlin Fitch says in 
review : 

Great literary art is shown in the naive story of how the yoimg neophyte 
unconsciously falls in love with the social |)ariah, the daughter of the hang- 
man, and the tragic clitnax of this love is told in a way that will move even the 
careless reader. 

That the same pen which is thrust through " the fools and 
villains and pretenders " of San Francisco, and which maintains 
a sustained note of condenmation from the first page to the last 
in " Black Beetles in Amber," has moved through the pages of 
"The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter," seems at first sight 
unbelievable. And yet what is more natural after all than that 
the mind which extols the modest and flays the arrogant should 
be all the more capable of appreciating the charm of youth and 
innocence and purity. For of such a kingdom is Benedicta, the 
child of the brain of these two writers and the German acro.ss the 
.seas — and a more beautiful character has never come into being 
within the covers of a book. 



l8o CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND IvlTERATURE. 

In regard to the subject of this sketch, Mrs. Atherton says 
in her sketch in the Cosmopolitan : 

Ambrose Bierce sits alone on the top of a mountain and does work which 
twenty years ago would have given him instant fame. He has the best brutal 
imagination of any man in the English-speaking race; his sonnets are exquis- 
itely dainty and tender; his fables are the wittiest that have been written in 
America. Poe never wrote anything more weirdly awful than " Chicamauga/' 
"My Favorite Murder" and "The Watcher by the Dead." The reserve and 
cynical brutality of these stories produce an impression never attained by the 
most riotous imagination. 

From E. H. Clough is quoted the following : 

Brevity is the essential of modern literature. The American takes the 
lead in this nineteenth century characteristic, and the Californian who follows 
writing as a trade has always been pre-eminent in this literary method. And of 
all Californian writers Ambrose Bierce is beyond all cavil the best exponent of 
this manner. Mr. Bierce's satire is purely intellectual. It depends upon no 
extraneous impulse. Ilis sentences are permeated with the essence of his indi- 
viduality, and every word he uses conveys a meaning that no other word could 
express so aptly. Ilis virile power is apparent in his slightest eflbrt, and it is 
the regret of his friends and admirers that he wastes so much time, energy and 
splendid ability upon the petty concerns of very small people. As a short story 
writer Mr. Bierce is unequaled. He is the peer of Robert Louis Stevenson in 
weird, shadowy ellect, and the superior of that writer in expression. He is a 
master of English in everything and his vocabulary is as copious as that of any 
living writer. Moreover, he is an even writer. Judged by the standard of his 
best work, nothing that he publishes is poor. Some day Ambrose Bierce will be 
appreciated at the true worth of his genius — but not now — the light is too close 
— we cannot discern the form and substance distinctly. 

As contrast to the other paragraphs a few are here quoted 
from W. C. Morrow : 

About twenty years ago a young American went to London, having served 
as an otticer in the war of the Kebcllion, and was engaged as a writer on Fun. 
Very soon the editors, amazed at the young man's ability, conceived the idea that 
he " could write anything." Accordingly they piled before him a great assort- 
ment of old wood cuts and asked him to " write things" to fit them. As a result 
he wrote a strange assortment of "things" that amazed and mystified Great 
Britain — wrote them to fit the old wood-cuts. The mysterious power of this 
extraordinary young man stirred higher London as no writer had done since the 
days of Swift. Behind the outlandish taks and fables of "Dod Grile," written 
to fit old wood-cuts, every politician saw a teller of secrtts, and every Pharisee 
of whatever kind felt a cruel finger upon a hidden ulcer. So great was the in- 
terest which " Dod Grile" aroused, that selections from his contributions to Fun 



AMBROSE BIERCE. tI'I 

were made and were published in a little book entitled "Cobwebs From an Empty 
Skull," embracing fables by " Zambri the Parsee," queer dialogues conducted by 
the Philosopher, the Soldier and the Fool, and sundry stories. This remarkable 
book, which had a great sale in those days, is now out of print. There are 
probably less than half a dozen copies in California now, and one of them is in a 
great library in San Francisco. In all literature there is notliing like that 
extraordinary book; there is nothing whatever to compare with its humor, its 
wit, its satire, its elusive and shadowy philosophy — it would be pleasant to find 
the critic who can tell what the book is. We have " Dod Grile " liere with us, 
and are so lacking in pride as to writhe when he makes mouths at us. His right 
name is Ambrose Bierce. — W. C. Morrow. 

A Still greater contrast, however, is here presented in several 
quotations from Mr. Bierce him.self. Some one said of him the 
other day : " Oh, you can't find his double anywhere." But that 
he is of a dual nature himself there is no doubt. He can be as 
gentle as he is vindictive ; he can be as sweet as he is bitter. To 
express this idea Charles Edwin Markham says : 

Ilis is a composite mind — a blending of Hafiz the Persian, Swift, Poe, 
Thoreau, with sometimes a gleam of the Galilean. 

An instance of this contrasting quality of mind is here 
quoted — his epitaph upon a friend. 

TO RALPH SMITH. 

Light lie the earth upon his dear dead heart. 

And dreams disturb him never; 
Be deeper peace than Paradise his part, 

Forever and forever. 

Without eulogy or analysis or further explanation, is here 
presented a a poem which is great enough to speak for itself and 
for its author as well : 

INVOCATION. 

Goddess of Liberty ! Lo, thou 

Whose tearless eyes behold the chain, 

And look unmoved upon the slain, 
Eternal peace upon thy brow, — 

Before whose shrine the races press, 

Thy perfect favor to implore 

(The proudest tyrant asks no more, 
The ironed anarchist no less), — 



l''82 CAIJl-OKNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Whose altar-coals that touch the lips 
Of prophets kindle, too, the brand 
By Discord flung with wanton hand 

Among the houses and the ships, — 

Upon whose tranquil front the star 
Burns bleak and passionless and white. 
Its cold inclemency of light 

More dreadful than the shadows are, — 

Thy name we do not here invoke 
Our civic rites to sanctify : 
Enthroned in thy remoter sky, 

Thou heedest not our broken yoke. 

Thou carest not for such as we : 
Our millions die to serve thee still 
And secret j)urpose of thy will. 

They perish — what is that to thee ? 

The light that fills the patriot's tomb 
Is not of thee. The shining crown 
Compassionately otlered down 

To those who falter in the gloom 

And fall, and call upon thy name, 
And die desiring — 'tis the sign 
Of a diviner love than thine, 

Rewarding with a richer fame. 

To Him alone let freemen cry 

Who hears alike the victor's shout, 
The song of faith, the moan of doubt. 

And bends Him from His nearer sky. 



God of my country and my race ! 
So greater than the gods of old — 
So fairer than the prophets told 

Who dimly saw and feared Thy face, 

Who didst but half reveal thy will 
And gracious ends to their desire. 
Behind the dawn's advancing tire 

Thy tender day-beam veiling still, — 

To whom the unceasing suns belong. 
And deed is one with consequence,- 
To whose divine inclusive sense 

The moan is blended with the song,— 



AMBROSE BIERCE. 183 

Whose laws, imperfect and unjust, 

Thy just and perfect purpose serve : 

The needle, howsoe'er it swerve. 
Still warranting the sailor's trust, — 

God, lift Thy hand and make us free : 

Perfect the work Thou hast designed. 

O strike away the chains that bind 
Our souls to our idolatry 1 

The liberty Thy love hath given 

We thank Thee for. We thank Thee for 

Our great dead father's holy war 
Wherein our manacles were riven. 

We thank Thee for the stronger stroke 

Ourselves delivered and incurred 

When — Thine incitement half unheard — 
The chains we riveted we broke. 

We thank Thee that beyond the sea 

The people, growing ever wise, 

Turn to the west their serious eyes 
And dumbly strive to be as we. 

As when the sun's returning flame 

Upon the Egyptian statue shone. 

And struck from the enchanted stone 
The music of a mighty fame, 

Let Man salute the rising day 

Of liberty, but not adore. 

'Tis Opportunity — no more — 
A useful, not a sacred, ray. 

It bringeth good, it bringeth ill. 

As he possessing shall elect. 

He maketh it of none effect 
Who worketh not within Thy will. 

O give us more or less, as we 

Shall serve the right or serve the wrong. 
Confirm our freedom but so long 
As we are worthy to be free. 

But when (O distant be the time ! ) 

Majorities in passion draw 
Insurgent swords to murder Law, 
And all the land is red with crime. 



184 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Or — nearer menace ! — when the band 
Of feeble spirits cringe and plead 
To the gigantic strength of Greed, 

And fawn upon his iron hand : 

Nay, when the steps to power are worn 
In hollows by the feet of thieves. 
And Mammon sits among the sheaves 

And chuckles while the reapers mourn — 

Then stay Thy miracle ! replace 

The broken throne, repair the chain, 
Restore the interrupted reign 

And veil again thy patient face. 

Lo! here upon the world's extreme 

We stand with lifted arms and dare 
By thine eternal name to swear 
Our country, which so fair we deem — 

Upon whose hills — a bannered throng — 
The spirits of the dawn display 
Their Hashing lances all the day 

And hears the sea's pacific song — 

Shall be so ruled in right and grace 
That men shall say : " O drive afield 
The lawless eagle from the shield, 

And call an angel to the place ! " 

— Ambrose Bierce. 




THE flBLUS IlETTEH. 

1866-18S3. 

FOOriDEI^S RJiO Pl^OPI^IETOI^S : 

Frederick Marriott Sr. arid Frederick Marriott Jr. 

EDITOI^S : 

William M. Nielson, Ambrose Bieree, T. A. Harcourt, D. W. C. Nesfeld, 
Richard Gibson, Frank H. Gassaway, Daniel (yConnell, J. H. Gilmour, A. S. 
-Loundes, Edward Moran and othert. 

COrlTf?IBUTOf?S: 

J. 

Peter Robertson, John Finley, Gxustav Glaser, Kate Waters, Eliza D. Keith, 
Ermentine Poole, Ella ^Sterling Cummins and others. 

The News Letter, well known throughout this country and 
Europe, was founded in July, 1856, and was at first simply a 
sheet of blue letter paper, one side of which was a three-column 
newspaper, the other being left blank for the purchaser to fold 
and write the address upon and then mail. The idea was popular 
and the paper throve. Its founder, Frederick Marriott, was a 
journalist of experience, having been the founder of the London 
Illustratrated News, and connected with other prosperous journals. 
Mr. Marriott succeeded in making his journal very popular, and 
at his death he was succeeded by his son, Frederick Marriott, in 
the proprietorship of the paper. Its popularity and prosperity 
still continue. 

It has issued many holiday and midsummer numbers con- 
taining stories and articles and poems from our best writers, 
notably a supplement in the year 1882, if I mistake not. It was 
of a young Californian beauty who refused her sweetheart, say- 
ing : ' ' You can ask me again and I will give you an answer 
when snow falls in the streets of San Francisco." As this was 
the same as a final answer, there being no such possibility in this 
mild clime, the young man sorrowfully took his departure. But 



l86 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

all at ouce the air filled with flakes and the roses and lilies were 
covered with snow. He smiled, returned to the young lady, who 
stood in astonishment at the miraculous sight, and — she gave 
him a difTerent answer. 

Some of Frank Gassaway's best poems have appeared here. 
He has a gift for soul-stirring verse of the narrative order, such 
as "Pride of Battery B," "Bay Billy," "The Dandy Fifth." 
"The Color Bearer of the Sky," and others, all of which have 
become popular as recitations. It is with regret that this volume 
goes to press without some quotation from Mr. Gassaway, as he 
is a representative writer, but the promised material has never 
reached me. 

The Christmas stories of the Neios Letter have in many cases 
been excellent, notably a character story of a Californian French- 
man by Peter Robertson, and an East Indian story by John 
Hamilton Gilmour. 







£ f5 

O 00 



O 



THE UUflSP. 

{FIEST CARTOON PAPER IN COLORS) 
1870-1893. 

Korbel Brothers. 

EDITOI^S : 

George B. Machrett, Col. Jackson, Dan O^Connell, Ambrose G. Bierce, Frank 
Gassaway, Gen. Backus, D. S. Richardson, Thomas E. Flynn, Edward Townsend, 
Frank Richardson, Annie Lake Townsend, Minnie Buchanan Unger, Flora Haines 
Longhead, Ella Sterling Cummins, Alice Denison, Emma Frances Dawson, Charlotte 
Perkins Stetson, Lillian Plunkett, Ella Higginson and others. 

The U'asp antedates any other paper of the same class in 
the United States, It was founded in 1870, and was the first 
cartoon paper (in colors) ever published in America. Messrs. 
Korbel and brothers were the original proprietors, and it had 
several different owners and editors, until finally, in 1889, it 
became the property of Samuel W. Backus. Charles W. Saal- 
burg and Langstruth have been cartoonists, frequently assisted 
by Henry Nappenbach. General Backus was born in 1844 ^^ 
New York, but has grown to manhood in California, and has 
for thirty years been in public life. Coming here in 1852, he 
was educated at the public shools of Sacramento. He served in 
the Civil War, joining the Army of the Potomac in 1862. He 
was made a Second lyieutenant at 19, and served with distinction 
until the close of the war. He served in the Modoc wars of 
1865-6, and for a time commanded at Fort Bidwell. Retiring 
from the Army, he entered the civil seivice, first in the Internal 
Revenue Department, and afterward in the Custom House. In 
1867 he gave up the public service for private business, and 
became a commission merchant, and for ten years did an exten- 
tive trade. In 1878 he was elected to the State Legislature from 



l88 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

the same district with the late Hon. John Swift. He was ap- 
pointed Adjutant-General by ex-Governer Perkins in 1880, and 
was a most efficient officer, reorganizing the State militia thor- 
oughly. He was San Francisco's Postmaster, under President 
Arthur's administration ('82-86), and made such an enviable 
record as an administrator of public affairs that President Harri- 
son re-appointed him in 1890, and he still holds the position. 
General Backus is still a comparatively young man, and in his 
management of the IJ^asp, brought to bear his great abilities to 
good advantage. 

Recently a joint stock company was formed, of which Thomas 
E. Flynn, a well-known local journalist, is the leading stock- 
holder. Mr. Flynn is one of the best hiunorous writers on the 
coast, and as he is the editor, he bids lair to make the IVasp the 
equal of the large Eastern comic papers. 

The cartoons of the lFas/> have always been characterized 
by great originality. Some of the ideas thus presented by the 
different artists have really had their origin in the brain of the 
man who for the time being sat in the editor's desk. The his- 
tory of the Pacific Coast is here told in grotesquerie more potent 
in its effect than the cold-blooded fact of the daily press. The 
best one of them all, in the opinion of the writer, the most 
terrific presentation of a problem to a people, is that of the 
cartoonist, Langstruth, relative to the Asiatic horde. It well rep- 
resents the histor}- of California in 1879, before the Exclusion 
Act went into operation, and is here presented to show something 
of the cartoonist in California. 

Space forbids more than mention of the able editors and 
contributors who have made the columns sparkle with satire and 
humor. The department carried on by Annie Lake Townsend 
in the early eighties, entitled " A Woman's Journal," and signed 
" Jael Deuce," was the quintessence of woman's wit and phil- 
osophy. No other paper ever had the courage to present such 
good material of this kind to the reading public, but the para- 
graphs were cut out and preserved in scrap-books, as silent wit- 
ness to the appreciation of the feast thus spread. 

Ambrose Bierce wrote manj' ' ' Black Beetles in Amber' ' for 
the JVasp. Dan O'Connell's best work came into these columns. 



THE WASP. 189 

Frank Gassaway illuminated the pages. Minnie Buchanan 
linger left the impress of her fervid pen in several of the Christ- 
mas stories. 

Alice Denison wrote many a quaint verse over the signature 
*' Cactus." I^atterly Charlotte Perkins Stetson has contributed 
satires that sparkled, lyillian Plunkett, graceful verses with a 
little sting in them, Ella Higginson who writes for "I,ife," has 
also contributed fanciful conceits in verse. 

Perhaps it is as well to give the credit or the blame of the 
" Caufornian Story of the Files" to the IVasp, the place 
where it belongs. Under the title " Library of Californian 
Writers," the series of sketches ran for six months during 1891. 
The encouragement that was accorded the sketches at that time, 
has led to their compilation in book form. 



THE flHGONAUT SCHOOL!. 

1877-1893. 
EDITORS : 
Frank M. Pixley, Fred M. Somers, Jerome A . Hart. 

COflTI^IfiUTOJ^S : 

Yda Addis, Mary Therese Austin, OertrudelAtherion, Ambrose Bierce, H, D. 
Bigeloiv, Kate Bishop, Geraldine Bonner, John Bonner, James F. Boivman, Julia H. 
S. Bugeia, R. J. Burddte, H. C. Bunner, George Chismore, E. H. dough, Ella 
Sterling Cummins, Ina D. Coolbrith, Sam Davis, Alexander Bel Mar, Frances Daw- 
son, H. J. W. Dam, Robert lloive Fletcher, J. H. Gaily, J. T. Goodman, Margaret 
Collier Graham, Clay M. Greene, T. A. Har court, Jerome A. Hart, May M. Hawley, 
Kate Heath, H. B. Haxton, William Hinton, Ada Archibald, Julia Clinton Jones, 
George H. Jessop, Kate Kellogg, B. J/. Ketchum, Leonard Kip, N. C. Kouns, Mary 
Lake, Helen Lake, Flora Haines Longhead, Evelyn Ludlum, Fred Lyster, Dorothea 
Lummis, Julian 3Iagnus, Edward Munson, Baoul Martinez, Arthvr McEwen, Robert 
Duncan Milne, W. C. Morrow, Dan O'Connell, Frank M. Pixley, Dan de Quille, 
Biehard Real/, Peter Robei-tson, Charles H. Shinn, Belle Strong, Mary 0. Stanton, F. 
M. Somers, Mark Sibley Severance, Charles Warren Stoddard, Ralph Sidney Smith, 
Millicent W. Shinn, Annie Lake Townsend, Edivard W. Townstnd, Annie Toland, 
Alfred Trumble, J. (X Tucker, Minnie Buchanan linger, L. S. Vassault, F. J. Vas- 
sault, Thomas J. Vivian, Charles Dwight Willard, A. E. Watrous, Oscar Weill, 
James F. Watkins. 

From the initial number of the Arg07iaiit to the present da}- 
it has always been a surprise. Admirably adapted to the tastes 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL,. I9I 

of San Francisco, it has maintained its supremacy for fifteen 
years, and is still without a rival. It was a felicitous thought 
which occurred to the originator of this journal to make it a dual 
creation — rampant Americanism on one side — that of politics — 
and decided Europeanism on the other — that is to say, art and 
literature. The one element satisfied the provincialism of the 
father of the family and the ordinary citizen, and the other 
brought a degree of enlightenment to those who. Evelike, longed 
to taste of the unknown fruit of the world beyond. In this way 
the Argonaut has been an educator as well as an entertainer. 

Sometimes, it is true, in the desire to present the latest 
Parisian literary success, the boundaries have sometimes been 
reached and the feast is a little too strong for the ordinary San 
Francisco palate ; but the offsetting columns of plain, practical 
Americanism absorb the attention, and those who do not like the 
foreign flavor pass it by. 

Literary art, however, is the chief prevailing characteristic of 
the Argonaut, and, in cou.sequence of the high standard there 
maintained, there has come into existence in California a school 
of writers which, insensibly and unconsciously, has been influ- 
enced by this prevailing characteristic. Vigorous and strong is 
the English, vivid and terse and epigrammatic the style, original 
and weird the plots of the stories to be found in the columns of 
these files. Many of them have made sensations and been the 
chief topic of the day, afterward to be copied in Eastern journals 
and travel the world oven in translated form of other languages. 

It is impossible to do justice to the names of these writers 
within the limits of one volume, especially where there are so 
many who are equally meritorious. The sketches of the three 
editors, themselves, if properly written, would occupy the space 
which must serve for all. 

The department devoted to "Americanism" in the Argo7iauf 
maybe said to be "Frank; M. Pixley's Own." It originated 
with him, was the child of his brain and his heart, and has grown 
with his growth and will probably die with his death. 

It seems a superfluity to attempt to write a sketch of Mr. 
Pixley. I have seen sketches and cartoons and histories and 
misrepresentations of Mr. Pixley in the papers since I was a 



192 



CAUFORNIAN WRITKRS AND I.lTKRATURE. 



child. vSonie of them have grown into legends which cluster 
about his name as if he were a fabled hero of the mythical 
])cri()cl. I have known men and women to rush to a political 
meeting for which they cared nothing simply to have an oppor- 
tunity of laying eyes on a man who occupied so much of the 
public attention. Where should we begin and where leave off in 
endeavoring to portray the life of a man who has been lawyer, 
miner, journalist, politician, capitalist, in many of which posi- 
tions he has swayed the balance of power according to his will. 

He has made and unmade 
men ; he has thrown his 
weight for and against party 
politics and come forth vic- 
torious ; he has been supe- 
rior to mere party, and for the 
sake of American principles 
thwarted both Democrats and 
Republicans single-handed. 
How well I remember the 
sudden lift he gave a small 
band of devoted men who 
wore enrolled under the name 
of ' ' Patriotic Sons of Amer- 
ica." He came to their 
"camp-fires" and joined 
their ranks, and from this 
nucleus proclaimed that sud- 
den uprising called the 
"American Party." With only one journal, the Argonaut, 
behind them, tliey defeated the nominee for Governor who had 
openly refused the American party's allegiance and had preferred 
to bid for the foreign vote, and they elected the Ivieutcnant-Gov- 
crnor who stood second upon the same ticket, presenting as a 
result the strange spectacle of a Democratic Governor and a 
Republican T.ieutenant-Governor. Upon the death of the Gov- 
ernor the Republican succeeded the Democrat, bringing the office 
back into the party again. The American who had openly 
repudiated his own race, and had bid for the foreign vote instead, 




I'KANK M. riXMCY. 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 1 93 

never recovered from the awful disaster and died a year or so 
after — with the result, probably, that the lesson will not be for- 
gotten by politicians, and that the American vote will never be 
insulted again. 

But it is not my province to discuss politics — literature is the 
theme of this volume. And again I say, where should one begin 
and where end in analyzing such a mind as this ? 

Briefly, then, Mr. Pixley is a native of Westmoreland, Oneida 
county, N. Y., born in 1825, making him now about sixty-eight 
years of age. He is of Knglish and vScotch descent and obtained 
his education mostly from a private tutor, a graduate of Hamil- 
ton College. He studied law in Rochester, N. Y., and in 1847 
was admitted to the Supreme Court of Michigan. Two years 
later he crossed the plains to California, in 1854 marrying Miss 
Amelia Van Reynegom, and since that time has resided in the 
same house in a part of the city situated at North Beach, where 
he owns four blocks of land. From the volume entitled " The 
Early Days and Men of California," by W. F. Swasey, a pioneer 
of the past, the following quotation is made : 

Here is a man wlio has [)robably exerted a more commanding influence 
upon the pnblic mind of (California, by the superior ability and independence of 
thought whicli lie has displayed in his public utterances and public writings, 
than all other men put together who have figured in public life, or in the pro- 
fession of journalism, since California became an American State. 

The Arc/onaul — -it is not too wweeping a statement to say it — is to-day one 
of the ablest journals, whether in a literary sense or otherwise, published in the 
English language in this country. Certainly among all of those published on the 
Pacific Coast none can be referred to whose editorials have been so widely read, 
quoted from and commended as models of JOnglish composition and style, as these 
which have appeared in its columns from the hand and brain of Frank M. 
Pixley. 

The following is contributed by Flora Haines IvOUghead, 
one of the Argonaut writers : 

A lady who is a cordial admirer and friend of this gentleman, but who is 
herself a merciless humorist, once remarked: "Frank Pixley is the most inter^- 
esting man I ever saw. IFe is as interesting as a kangaroo; you never know 
which way lie is going to jump." 

This faculty for doing the unexpected, and taking wholly original views 
and opinions, has undoubtedly contributed to the sustained interest of the public 



194 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

in Mr. Pixley and liis paper, the Argonaut, whicli has vicariously profited 
through it. But it must not be inferred from this that the editor is a literary 
mountebank. Mr. Pixley is sincere, furiously sincere, in all that he says. His 
speech is brilliant, and he brings to the support of his opinions such a weight of 
logic, such plausible reasoning, and assails an opponent with such keen lances of 
wit, such cii{)tivatiiig raillery, such a rattling succession of blows straight from 
the shoulder, that the man who is down must laugh and feel a respect for his 
antagonist. Hut to those who have followed closely Mr. Pixley's record as a 
writer, his chief charm lies, not in his valiant achievement of victories, but in 
his masterly way of meeting a defeat — and a man so rash of speech and so pug- 
nacious must occasionally encounter defeat. His principle of behavior in such 
instances was in one notable occasion openly announced for the edification of 
readers. " If the Argonaut finds itself in a corner," the editor gravely announced, 
"it does not hesitate to turn around and crawl out." As the editor continues to 
SAy bright and funny things all the while he is making this inglorious exit from 
his corner, the sjjcctaclc is an enlightening one.— Flora JTaiiies Loughead. 

The subject of Frank M. Pixley is one not easily exhausted, 
and so one more point of view is presented, this time that of Yda 
Addis : 

In 1.S77 Mr. Pixlev founded the Argonaut, and thenceforward that weekly 
was a very fidminator of diatribes against abuses and dangers, social and political. 
Many critics have found Mr. Pixley's leaders fanatical and rabid; but under- 
neath the surface justice of such a verdict lurks ingrate error. His is the far 
provision which ranges from causes incipient to results inevitable, and an ardent 
and altruistic patriotism rings in the war-cries that to the happy-go-lucky 
optimist sound like but vmbased bellowings of a malcontent run-a-muck. The 
force, the vigor, the vitality of Mr. Pixley's writings, none can (piestion ; their 
belligerency, thoir fro(iuent brutality, do but serve to call and fix an attention not 
to be commanded by milder phrasing. Mr. Pixley's style has merits all its own. 
The rich range of his vocabulary, the peculiar fitness and graphic value of his 
terms, the uncompromising directness, the unerring swoop with which he hurls 
himself upon a false or faulty principle, all are characteristic, as well as the 
sardonic humor with which he often arms his pen, as if he wrote with a lancet. 

Oddly enough, the bit of writing which Mr. Pixley himself prefers to all 
his other work is somewhat out of his usual line. Jn 1871 Sir Beresford iroi)e 
was advocating, through the London Times, the erection of a monument in \'ir- 
ginia to the memory of Stonewall Jackson. Mr. Pixley, then in Europe, 
replied, also through the Times, in strenuous opposition to the project. His 
objections, he avers, were not based on partisan feeling, but on the ground that 
the events of the (Jivil War were too recent to admit of impartial and judicial 
selection of the heroes whose deeds shall have national commemoration. With 
due deference to Mr. Pixley's opinion, his passionate, powerful phillipics on 
sociological questions are the utterances which will write his name on the tablets 
which time will raise to political reformers. — Yda Addis. 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOI.. 



195 



The Argonaut was founded in April, 1877, by Fred M. 
Somers and Frank M. Pixley. While Mr. Pixley carried on the 
editorial department. Mr. Somers devoted his attention to the 
literary department. 

Mr. Somers represents an element of tremendous journalistic 
activity. He came to California with the name "Argonaut" in 
his pocket, which name he had orij^inally gotten from Bret 
Harte's lecture, "The Ar- 
gonauts of l-'orty -nine." 
He evolved the idea of the 
paper and induced Mr. /' 
Pixley to join him in estab- 
lishing it as the Argonaut. 
A little later on he con- 
ceived the idea of the In- 
dian girl which serves as a 
frontispiece for this vol- 
ume, and had the artist, 
Jules Tavernier, prepare it 
for the Christmas number of 
the Argonaut^ one of the 
most beautiful and typical 
illustrations ever presented to a San F'rancisco public. 

The Overland was now dead, and Mr. Somers thought he 
would start a successor to it in the form of the Californian Maga- 
zine. At the same time he evolved the idea of the Epigram, 
and then, falling ill, was compelled to abandon all literary work 
and rest for a year or two, in order to regain his health. A few 
years later he inaugurated a publication in New York City called 
Current Literature, and still another monthly called Short Stories. 
His success has been so remarkable that it is evident he brings 
life and vitality into all his literary enterprises, and needs only to 
stay by them till they have attained their growth in order to 
endow them with prosperity and longevity. 

Frederick Maxwell Somers was born in Portland, Me., and 
came to California in the middle of the seventies. He has been 
an encourager of literature and of young writers. Many there 
are in California to-day who look back regretfully to the day 




FKK1> M. SOMKRS. 



196 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



when Mr. Somers ceased to be a power in literary matters in San 
Francisco, and still speak of his exceeding kindness of heart, and 
the excellent influence he exerted in favor of good literature. 
Nothing is better as proof of this than the splendid material he 
gathered together as a nucleus in the California7i Magazine. 
Mr, Somers has lately revisited California and renewed his old 
acquaintances, and tried to bring good cheer with him, as of old, 
to the eager spirits of literature who find here little encourage- 
ment for the story that lies in their hearts. 

It was in the fall of 1879 when Mr. Somers temporarily gave 
up the management of the Argonaut to begin preparations for 

the Calif orriiaii . It was at 
this time that Jerome A. 
Hart took his place as man- 
aging editor, although Mr. 
Somers still retained his pro- 
prietary interest in the Argo- 
naut until the winter of 
1881-82, when he disposed of 
his interest in the journal to 
Mr. Hart and went abroad. 
Thus it will be seen that 
Mr. Hart has been the man- 
aging editor of the Argonaut 
for thiiteen of the fifteen 
years of its existence. 
Jerome Alfred Hart was born in California. Regarding his 
work on the Argonaxit as editor, Frank B. Millard says as fol- 
lows : 




je;rome a. hart. 



The man who does the careful editing of the Argonaut has no great name 
as a journalist, and for that I am thankful. If I were Jerome A. Hart, the 
gentleman in question, I would rather be appreciated by the few who know good 
editing when they see it, than to have my name carved over the front door of the 
tallest news-factory in the country for every vulgarian to gape at. T have 
seen editors and editors, but I know of none whose work shows up better in 
cold type than does Mr. Hart's, Why ? Because he is careful, and from the 
great mass of leadable and unreadable matter that flows into the Argo7mut 
office he can tell to a nicety what of it all his readers will most care for. 

How does he do it ? 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 1 97 

There are some editors who tell you they can smell a good article. They 
don't have to read one quarter of it to know that it's "just the stuff"" they want. 
Mr. Hart does not do his editing that way. He does tlie writer the justice to 
find out out wliat he has really written. The whole story does not lie in that 
carefully prepared first page, and Mr. Hart knows it. 

Of course, he has his fancies. One of them is for odd, grewsome or quaint 
tales. He likes too well the story tinted by the supernatural. And yet, I do 
not know that this is a grave fault; for he has given us W. C. Morrow and has 
quoted the always-impossible Milne, each of whom we cannot help reading. But 
I am most grateful to him because of his giving us K. L. Ketchum and Buckey 
O'Neill. And I am glad he has admitted the cool, dainty " Van Gryse," the 
clever "Cockaigne" and the fluffy but always readable "Parisian." 

The Argonaut^s literary matter reflects Mr. Hart's quietness of tone and 
his polished gentlemanliness. If lie were a writer — and he is essentially an 
editor — I fancy he would be a sort of Henry James. But you cannot tell how 
far a frog may jump by his looks, nor can you tell what Mr. Hart might do if he 
were to take to word-slinging. He might turn out as harrowing as Bierce or as 
happy-go-lucky as Sam Davis. Still, 1 am willing to trust him, and would like 
much to see him begin to work the pen on his own account, instead of using it to 
dress up other people's English. — Frank B. Millard. 

Regarding the literary work of Mr. Hart, the following is 
contributed by Yda Addis : 

The literary work of Mr. Hart is so varied and so uniformly excellent 
in its versatility that the reading world must deplore that editorial incumbency 
which usurps a more eclectic one. 

The most striking characteristic of Mr. Hart's work is its finish. From his 
entrance on the field of letters, about 1880, if I mistake not, this feature has 
been most notable. His many translations from the French, the German, the 
Italian and the Spanish have ever been marked by a nicety of shading, an accu- 
rateness of rendering, which preserved, so far as any translation may, the exact 
flavor and spirit of the original. 

In his correspondence for foreign periodicals, Mr. Hart has shown his 
readiness to exercise the editorial functions upon his own work ; his were model 
letters, as concise as they were exhaustive. It is not unsafe to say that American 
journalism has contained nothing cleverer than tlie " Zulano Papers," which 
for some years were the piquant sauce of the Argonaut. If they do not 
become classics it must be for the liberal distribution of local color. Eliminate 
the touches which localize, and these satiro-philosophic-persiflagic-gossipy-critical- 
with-an-occasional-bit-of-exquisite-idyl-thrown-in-for-Zajmiappe-papers can be 
read to-day with as crisp enjoyment as when first written, nearly fifteen years 
since, ranging, as they do, over almost every phase of literature, art, music, 
society and human nature. Hart has avoided the one fault of his work else- 
where — here he is spontaneous. There was nothing forced or strained about 



1 98 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND IJTERATURE. 



Zulano. His observations were as instinctive and natural as the frolic of the 
leaves when the wind pipes. 

But Mr. Hart's verse, with a few notable exceptions like "jNIadrone" and 
the stately, wistful "Amantes Amentes" has not the art which conreals art. His 
sentiment is very graceful, but stagey. Not only his figures of rhetoric, but the 
emotions they assume to express, bow and balance and drill, pose and gesticu- 
late with the perfect ease of clever actors at the highest degree of training. But 
no one could mistake them for real beings — they command admiration from the 
intellect, but they do not touch the heart — they are clearly artificial. 

As to technique, in verse or prose, didactic strain or veriest nonsense, Mr. 
Hart is ever fiiultless. It would rend his soul were he forced to write a halting 
foot of verse or to build an inartistic sentence. — Yda Addis. 

Mary Therese Austin was born in Greeubay, Illinois, coming 
to California when but a child. In 1874 she wrote for the Alia, 
and when her brother, Jerome A. Hart, became connected with 
the Af'gonaut, in 1S77, she accepted the dramatic position on 

that journal. This she pro- 
ceeded to make one of the most 
delightful departments upon 
any paper anywhere. In 1887 
she went to Europe, and in 1881 
to Japan and China, writing a 
series of letters for the Argo- 
naut upon her travels — bright,, 
breezy letters which were read 
with pleasure. In 1S89 li^^" 
life came to an abrupt close. 

From "Undertones," a de- 
partment conducted by Peter 
Robertson, the following per- 
sonal reminiscences are quoted: 

It was more than a common loss that took from us Mary Therese Austin. 
I knew her ; I had the honor of being one of that circle she gathered around lier 
in her rooms and held so long together by the force of her brilliant intellectual 
qualities, her attractive personality, her modesty, which gave to her conversa- 
tion and her manner a charm that cannot be described. She was an exceptional 
woman — not one of those tlasliing, dazzling women one associates with French 
salons, but one who said something when she spoke, and wasted no words in 
meaningless noise. 

Everybody knows her as a writer, as a critic, and especially in theatrical 
matters her feuilieton was looked for with considerable anxiety, especially by 




"BETSY B. 



Tiiic AK(;oNAi;T sciiooi.. 199 

strangOFH wlio, coiniiif^ to Han I'Viinci.sM) for the lirKt tinic, knew of" lUthv 15" hk a 
writer wIiokc venlict would iriatcrially afltct their reputation. ]'>y the |)uhiic her 
style in writinj? wiih always appreeiated, and the constant (low of hright, witty, 
sensible, original thought gave even to those old suhjcicts, which dramatic critics 
liave constantly to deal with, a freshness and interest that niaddgiheni new. 

For some years Mrs. Austin liad a delightful cotc^ric of friends who 
asHend)led in lier rooms on Sunday evenings and spent three or four hours in dis- 
cussion, conv(M-satior), hadina,g(! and even in simph' games that relieved the seri- 
ousness of lit(Tary and artistic talk. She was a charming hostess, ^he (lisjK-nsed 
hospitality with a, simple grace, ludetul, under her indueiice hospitality dis- 
pensed itself to the p(!rf(!ct comfort of her guest,s, and hehind, before, around her 
floated "Joe," as everybody liked to call liim, emphasi/.ing with true Scotch sin- 
cerity the welcome that everybody received. 

Many brilliant evenings took place; in those rooms. There was a very 
pleasant little band of peo[)lc who delighted to go there, and in the refined 
atmosphere which always surrounded Mrs. Austin, wit took a high flight and 
philoKophy lost its weight and became gay and sprightly. 'I'here were no heavy 
diK(|uisil ions on .any subject. The heaviest and most dignilied were fr«(|uently 
expounded witli fpiip and crank antl jest, and something in those Sunday even- 
ings seemed to insi)ire the dullest to brightness. If those fugitive bits of witty 
repartee, of bright humor, of pungent [jliilosophy, could have been caught and 
noted down, they would have made a book worth reading. Hut they came and 
went, they raised a laugh — the meaning remained, but the turn of expression 
had gone. Sometimes those evenings would lake a simple turn and those twenty 
or thirty clever women and bright men would play a game of ipiestions ; but 
thos(! gauKis would give rise to a hundred jokes — ^a perfect rain of good-humored 
chadj which rc^ached ;i high l(;v(!l of wit and humor. 

I retiKjmber one mc^rry evening whi^n she giive a picnic, in Ikm- rootiis. It 
had be(!n the custom for the litth; coterie to go every year for a picnic in the 
woods. That year it had not b(!en possible, and the season was about over. So 
she made up her mind she would have the picnic in her rooms. Kroni the 
IJaldwin Thc^ater she sec^ired a number of painted trees an<l a back scene of 
landsca|)e, she borrow«!d a immber of those green mats they u^e for grass on the 
stag<r, and sIh; procurcid some real shrubbery to (ill in with. Her jiarlor was 
suddenly transformed into a picnic ground. Some "painted water" was got and 
the canvas <:arefully banked with those green mats, and they represented grafs 
all over the; room. 

There wen; no chairs; everybody had to sit down on the grass, and there, 
late in the evening, a little supper was s<;rved. There was no end of merriuK^nt. 
On the trees and shrubbery were hung little placards, as an afterthought, during 
the evening, " Beware of the Caterpillars," and other legends. A large tree wa« 
placed on one side of the window, with a couple of seats behind it, and " No 
I'Mirting" was conspicuously postc^l on it, which naturally induced pc^oph; to go 
there and sit. liul as they were always in full view of tin; whoh; room, there 
was not rmich need for tin; placard. 'J'he gentlemen were compelled to come in 
evening dress to the picnic, but the ladies were all in light jiicnic dresses. It was 



200 CAI.Il'ORNIAN WRITKRS AND I.ITKRATURK. 

a merry nij^ht, ami ono tliat none of the cirele will ever Ibrget. 

For Mrs. Austin, as a woman, all her friends — and she had many — had a 
profound admiration and atlectiou. As a writer, when one thinks of the litera- 
ture which has lately been written by the sex, one cannot help placing her up in 
the lirst rank. It is the diamond against the bloodstone. Had she been in Lon- 
don, Paris or New York, the world would have known her, and her salon would 
liave been famous, for she would have drawn around lior all the highest and 
cleverest men in literature and art. 

I doubt if there is to-day writing, a woman with as much intellectual tal- 
ent, as line a taste, as felicitous a style, or as pure or higli a mind. lUit nothing 
that 1 can write can approach for felicity of expression, genuineness of feeling, 
or beautiful simplicity of diction this little paragraph, from the pen of one of 
lier own sex, one who knew her and loved her, one whom she knew and loved, 
one who stood next to hers-clf in that little coterie of which she was the honored 
head : 

"During the eight or nine years ^Irs. Austin had been the dramatic critic 
of the Argouaut her nom de plume, " Hetsy B," was never signed to anything that 
was not entertaining, Just and sincere. This is no time at which to tell the story 
of her brilliant work for that and other papers, or to speak of her life in detail — 
the life of a woman of heart and brains, of great mental activity and very warm 
and wide sympathies. 

"One side of Mrs. Austin's character was a rare kindliness of heart. 
Those who knew her only as a keen wit and a kindly satirist can hardly appre- 
ciate the unvarying benevolence of her attitude to those about her. She knew 
as few people do how nnich the small things of life contribute to its liapi)iness 
or inihappiness. Her friends went to her with their great and little disappoint- 
ments and heartaches, and never failed to tind help and sympathy, ."^he had the 
lightest touch — no grief was so bitter, no wound so sensitive, that her quiet help- 
fulness could not allay its pang. 

" And now, when those who loved her are sore with the sense of their 
bereavement, there is no one like her to whom they can go for comfort. She 
was a great brightness in the lives of many. 

"Of such as she one does not write a long obituary, but there will be vio- 
lets on her grave this day next year.'' 

" The critical estimate of Mrs. Austin's work in the Argonaut 
has been prepared for the " Californian Story of the Files," 
by Adele Cliretien, who was for eight years dramatic critic on the 
Examiner, and knows whereof she speaks : 

Mrs. Austin's keen perception, clear judgment, retentive memory and un- 
hesitating courage, would have given value to her critical work, though her 
literary style had few instead of many graces. And even careless and shallow 
criticism could have been nuule attractive by such pungency and relish as 
there was in all her writings, especially after she bad realized and enjoyed the 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 20I 

larger liberty ol' comment and opinion given lier by a literary weekly when her 
novitiate on a conimercial was ended. 

I'erhaps the quality of mind that made itself most eonspieious in her 
work, partly because it was so acute and so active, partly because women are 
rarelv credited witli this endowment, was her sense of humor. It was this that 
first endeared her to her readers, and gave spice and point to even the early — 
and probably hasty — criticism in which her riper judgment found many flaws. 
The sparkle of her wit lighted up the humorous side of every amusing stage in- 
cident that came under her scrutiny, and discovered the comical under all sorts 
of solemn disguises. Guilty stage folk dreaded this wit as much as her readers 
loved it, for her pithy and poignant litlle sentences were remembered and repeated 
long after paragraphs of labored dispraise by other critics had been forgotten. 
She could make a word or two do the work for a column of descriptioo, as for 
instance, when she spoke of a certain burlesque actress, who had been routed 
by a rival, as having " packed her handkerchief and left." There was no need of 
further words. The young person's penchant for scanty toilets was sufliciently 
set forth. 

There was no sting in Mrs. Austin's racy paragraphs when she wrote of 
intelligent industry and well-applied talent. To these she was iniiuitely kind 
and encouraging. It was upon false pretense, self-confident vulgarity and lazy 
negligence that all the arrows of her wit were loosed, and the victims found it as 
hard to forget the sharpness as the public found it easy to remember the bright- 
ness of each shining shaft. 

Few wometi who write have a tithe of her courage. Where there was an 
imposition to be put down, an injustice to be scored or a falsehood exposed, it 
mattered nothing to her if it was backed by a millionaire manager or a great 
public favorite. Hhe rated either or both in round Anglo-Saxon with complete 
indifference to possible consecjuences disagreeable to herself 

When she had been writing long enough to convince her readers that no 
fear or favor could make her compromise with what she felt should be con- 
demned, her influence was established, and it remained unshaken and supreme to 
the end. It was not in her to write cold, ponderous and prim criticisms of any- 
thing or anybody. She evidently -and sensibly — felt that the world had gone on 
and left that style of writing behind, and that it was powerless to touch or influ- 
ence the readers of her day. ]5ut she got at the heart of an actor's work, when 
it was worth the seeking, and j)Iucked out its mystery with an unerring instinct. 
She recognized genius immediately, and her acknowledgment was as full and 
beautiful as her enjoyment of it was intense. Of the soulful singing of Albani 
and of Gerster in her prime, of Adelaide Neilson's rare dramatic loveliness and 
of Modjeska's exquisite grace, of Salvini's power and Booth's wonderful art, she 
wrote with an enthusiasm that made her readers sharers in her own delight, even 
when they had not seen the occasion of it. Once when she wrote of tome per- 
formance wherein the virtues did not appear until patient study had been 
brought to bear upon if, she said : "One does not go to the theater for the next 
day's entertainment." But it was just that next day's entertainment, in her own 



202 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITURATURE. 

review, that added an anticipatory zest to many a tine performanre, and lielped 
her readers to sit throngh many an indifferent one. 

It was not by any means for the criticism alone that people read their 
Argonaut backwards, a la Japonaise, in her day. They turned to the last page of 
reading matter in that admirably edited weekly with fresh interest every Satur- 
day morning, no matter what was going on at the theaters, or if nothing was 
going on. The great French critics have reduced discursiveness to an art, and 
write delightfully about anything else in heaven or earth when the theaters are 
dull and dry, poising on the stage only long enougli to get the spring for a flight 
beyond it. " I?etsy B" was as clever as any of them in making a very s{)angle of 
dramatic or musical suggestion the foundation for a glittering structure of fact 
and fa'ncy, keen comment on the passing scene or fresh thought about the eternal 
verities. 

She was no respecter of old-fogyism in life or literature. Her own dic- 
tion, graphic, incisive and piquant, was free from pedantic restraints, though it 
never strayed beyond the diocese of good English. No dull or insignificant para- 
graph appears in her work, which was bright and readable from the beginning 
though between the lirst and last of it tliere was extraordinary growth and 
ripening. Clear thought and quick observation, a discriminating taste and a 
vivid fancy, distinguished all her later work. 

When she wrote of her European experience in her ripened manner she 
gave a new charm to hackneyed themes and furnished fresh and striking pictures 
of scenes that have been almost worn to rags by tourists' letters. Pastels in 
prose had not come into fashion in her time. If they had, her little pictures of 
scenes that were new to her, which she painted as only a trained artist or an edu- 
cated journalist could present them, would have made gems for the magazines 
which deal in that material now. 

There was infmite humor in her way of bringing New WorM expressions 
to bear on Old World facts; but to her enlightened intelligence the slavish con- 
dition of the European women of the lower ranks, and the continuance of cer- 
tain social forms which had lost their filling and become husks, presented prob- 
lems too serious to be written about lightly or humorously. These were the only 
dark spots in her sketches. It was delightful to go with her in fancy up the 
Alps in Switzerland and down the burns of Scotland; to renew one's young love 
for the scenes of Walter Scott's novels, of the quaint Dutch artists' paintings, of 
the tremendous battles of modern history and the mytJis of the land of ice and 
snow with which Wagner wrought his wonderful music-dramas. 

She had something to say of all of them that was not an echo, and which 
stimulated thought and imagination with a new wine. She herself said that 
everybody else said there was nothing to see in Rotterdam. But who that read 
those three and a half delightful columns in which slie describes this nothing, 
did not feel that Rotterdam was an enticing city, and that with " Betsy B." as a 
companion, one could spend weeks there ? 

The light of her own rich fancy fell upon whatever she wrote about. 
When it touched beauty, grace or sweetness, they were transfigured. Where it 
was bent upon genius her own reverent admiration made it a footlight and 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 203 

revealed to duller eyes in sharper lines the features of greatness. She had the 
gift of expressing what the great actor had the power to show. The greatest of 
them all must have felt the sweetness of having performance crowned with such 
appreciation as hers, and to the actor's art she herself paid her own tribute in 
writing of Edwin Booth's "Brutus:" "What a wonderful art this is, ihat a 
man can plant another soul in his bosom and put another man before us in the 
flesh who has been dust in a lost grave these two thousand years." 

— Adele Chretien. 

From a copy of the Argonaut, dated March 12, 1887, is 
quoted the following as typical of Mrs. Austin's bright, breezy 
style and exquisite good taste : 



It is a dastard thing that time has done in laying his withering hand so 
heavily upon Edwin Booth. The great actor seemed to be one of " the few, the 
immortal men that were not born to die," if one may paraphrase something too 
great to bear a change, and consequently to have immunity from the ghoulish 
hand of decay. 

To the greater part of us he is a memory only ten years old, and ten 
years ago he was still so young that youth was one of the manifold graces of his 
wonderful Hamlet. 

When, therefore, the curtain rolled up slowly, even solemnly, on Monday 
night — or it may have seemed so in the breathless hush of expectancy — and the 
Hamlet looked mournfully out upon us from the lineaments of an old man, there 
was not a heart that did not throb with a moment's pain. Curiously enough, it 
did not strike people as being exactly wrong. There is but one Hamlet, and his 
name is Edwin Booth. But people have been talking it over — and taking a 
melancholy comfort in it, too — and wondering vaguely if nothing could be done. 
Booth has ruthlessly sheared his hyperion locks, which were, for so many years, 
distinctive of him, and their impatient shake belonged to Hamlet quite as mucli 
as the titful clapping of his brow. 

One would say of another man that he had cut his hair, but it does not 
seem quite the phrase to apply to Booth, who is the romantic figure of the day 
so far as the stage is concerned. The thought comes that he is shorn like a new 
Absalom, and every one who has loved his Hamlet cannot help but sigh for his 
lost locks. The swarth of his dark, Oriental face would not seem to take kindly 
to pigments, and what can restore the lustre of his marvelous eyes? * * * 
Shakespeare was his creator, but with Edwin Booth, Hamlet was born, and with 
Edwin Booth, Hamlet will die. For look you, this is not acting that we have 
been wondering over. There is no smell of the midnight oil on this pale, dark, 
mystic-looking man. These clear, meaningful readings are not the tortured 
evolutions of the student's study, for Edwin Booth is not a student, and there is 
no strain of pedantry in any translation of his. There's a laugh for the com- 
mentators and a fillip of the fingers for the interpreters when Pxlwin Booth is 



204 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Hamlet. Here are no new readings to startle you ; no tricksy business to distract 
you. Edwin Booth is the expression of Shakespeare. He does not step alone 
into the inky cloak and the cross-garters of the melancholy Dane. He steps 
into his fighting soul, and the complex Hamlet, who has tortured a thousand 
students, is as clear as morning light to this genius who gives body to a book- 
wraith that lias been waiting for him almost three hundred years. And there- 
fore it is that Hamlet was born with Edwin Booth. And it is meet and fitting 
this time that Hamlet grow old, and we cry " Ah, the pity of it! " But we shall 
look with exquisite tenderness upon every time-seam in his lace, upon every 
glint of gray in his locks, upon every fire that still (lashes in his eye. 

•x- ^ -x- 

All Californians are positively yearning to say something nice of Mr. John 
Malone, even tiiough it were only in a broad way, for the sake of native talent 
But if the King of Denmark will stand in the corridor of the palace and declaim 
liis remorse as if he were relating the fate of Casablanca, what are the unfortun- 
ate scribblers to do? 

* 
Fanny Kice, in her funny little high-pitched way, makes a very charming 
little host of the (iolden Lamb — trim, dainty, neat and pretty. 

•X- -x- 

-X- 

Minnie Maddern, a pretty little red-headed girl with a curious pereonal 
fascination, has been playing "Caprice" to crowded houses at the Alcazar. It is 
fair to presume that she is playing "Caprice," for it says so on the bills, but she 
lowers her tones in such an exaggerated way that no word of hers penetrates 
three feet beyond the footlights. It is therefore impossible, with the leading 
characters practically silent, to understand what the j)lot is, although one may 
gather something of it from the other characters. Still, Miss ^ladderndoes a lot 
of queer, funny, natural little things that are very charming in their way, and 
tlie children of nature at the Alcazar seem to find them so. — Bet.tij B. 

That a faint impression, at least, may be conveyed of the 
riches of the Argonaut in the way of short stories, I have finally 
succeeded in obtaining the following summary from Mr. Hart, 
which, ot itself, could easily be extended into a volume : 

THE argonaut's SHORT STORIES, 

I have been asked to prepare some comprehensive and condensed notes 
concerning the Argonaut short stories. In looking over the volumes to refresh 
my memory, 1 have been struck by the number of the original stories. I knew 
that we had printed many, but the number surprised me. I was under the 
impression that the majority of the story matter was made up of translations. I 
find, however, that while the number of translations is large, there are still many 
hundreds of short stories, most of them by Pacific Coast writers. 

The volumes which I have been examining extend over a period of sixteen 
years — 1877 to 1893. The number of stories, therefore, makes this sketch more 



TIIR ARGONAUT SCHOOI,. 205 

in the nature of a catalogue than anythinj^ olse, and it will prove rather dry 
reading. Further than that, if a certain monotonous tone of eulogy pervades it, 
the reader must remember that during most of these years — since 1879 — all of 
these manuscripts passed througli my hands and were endorsed " available," so 
that I can scarcely be expected to condenm them now. 

It may be well to say here that I have been reiiuestod to limit tiiese notes 
to original short stories. There has been a vast amount of other good matter in 
the Ar;/oiiaiU^Hevin\ stories, translations, sketches, reminiscences, verse and so 
forth. Hut concerning these 1 have not been asked to write. * * * 

The Ar(jonaul stories may be arranged in several divisions. There are, 
for example, the stories distinctively of the Coast — pictures of life in mines, on 
cattle-ranches and in frontier towns. Of these, E. 11. Clough furnished a number 
which appeared in 1H78, 1871) and 1880. Of late years he has written less. Mr. 
Clough "also wrote a series of humorous sketches called "The Pard's Epistles," 
through which there ran a story vein. His work was ruj^ged, vigorous, generally 
humorous, often pathetic. Here are the names of some of the most striking : 
"His Private (iraveyard," "Two (ients of Calaveras," "Salted," "A Singed 
Cat," "Old Bible Hack," "A Mariposa Courtship," "Pard's Epistles" (series), 
" Seeking the Lamb," "The Kemme Fashionable," "Snaggleby's Wedding," 
"Ah Choy," "Sing Low," "A Bar Sinister," "In Partnership," " liy Express," 
"The Kiss of Death," "Astral Protection," "Located at Deadhorse" and 
" A Bit of Ked Ribbon." 

Among other writers whose work had tiie atmos[)liere of the Far West 
was Dr. J. W. Oally, now dead. One of his most striking stories was a serial 
which appeared in the Overland entitled " Hig .Ja('k Small." Dr. Gaily wrote 
much for the yl cf/oitaiU some twelve or thirteen years ago, a great part of his 
work being sketch matter, and discussions of current topics. He had a facile 
pen, and in his long and active life in the West had accumulated a fund of 
knowledge which, like Mr. Weller's, was extensive and peculiar. Among his 
stories which I recall are these : " liulapi," " The Waving Red Legs," "Snakes," 
"St. Pecus," ".\ Listening Loafer," and "Collar and Elbow." 

There is another phase of Pacific Coast life which few have handled well 
— the semi-Spanish civilization. Those who write of the lives of the native 
Californians of Spanish blood and of the Mexicans of New and Old Mexico, must 
not only understand Spanish as well as English, but the Spanish nature as well 
as the Anglo-Saxon — a imicli rarer accomplishment. 1 think in this division of 
Pacific Coast literature Mrs. Yda Addis Storke stands easily first. This lady has 
lived in Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California, and is familiar 
with the customs and people of those comnnmities. She is sometimes accused 
of using too many Spanish phrases in her work, but I do not agree with this 
criticism. Owing to her skill in the use of language, she makes it apparent, in a 
subtle and not in an obvious way, what the meaning of these foreign phrases niiiy 
be. and by their use adds greatly to the color of her work. She has written nmch 
and well. A list of the titles of some of her ylri/onaMt stories will give an idea 
of the fertility of her pen: "Dr. Craft's Mistake," "For My Lady," 
"An Unknown Confidence," "The (iillespie Girls," "Two Women," "Don 



206 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Domingo," " Portrait of a Woman," " Ginone," "Idyl of the Frontier," "Over 
the Clifll" "A Serpent of the Tropics," " Fabiana's Lovers," " Shadows and 
Voices," "Santos' Suitors," "A Frontier Magdalen," "The Mystery of the 
Mine," "At the Luz del Dia," " Roger's Lnck," "Tlie Haunted Engine," " The 
Tram of the Desert," "A, Hidden Treasure," "Don Juan Manuel," " Pepe's 
Shroud," "A Maiden of Chihuahua," "Tlie Priest's Bridge." " Lovelorn Suicide," 
" Treasure Cove," " Woman's Will," " The Picture of a Priest," " The White 
Priest's Penance," " The Dumb Witness," "Tne Mysterious Woman," "The 
Unshrived Cihost," "A Bride from the Grave," "Jennie," "An American 
Husband," 'The Architect's Wife," "Ventura's Love," "The Lieutenant's 
Secret," "Afar in the Desert," "The Devil's Plains," "Alone on the Sea," 
" Donna Francisca," "The Street of the Burnt Woman," "Pila del Corazon," 
"The Street of the Dead Man," "A Mexican Lucrece," "A Fair Sinner," "The 
Knotted Rope," and " The Wailing Woman." 

Among stories of the life of the frontier, Sam Davis, in my opinion, is 
unique. He has not written for the ^ij-gonaut for a number of years. Li the 
earlier numbers, however, may be found some of his stories, all of them good 
and many of them striking. Here are the titles of a few : "The Devil Fishing," 
" Miss Armstrong's Homicide," "A Comstock Coroner," "The Pocket Miner" 
and " A Christmas Carol." Here it may be well to interject a remark, in the 
interest of the truth of history. In Sam Davis' Story, "A Christmas Carol," 
published in the Argonaut of February 25, 1879, may be found the anecdote con- 
cerning that celebrated placard in a frontier dive: 



Please do not shoot the Piano-player. 
He is doing his level best. 



I have heard and read this story many times since, but that was the first 
time I ever saw it in print. 

Charles Warren Stoddard wrote for the Argonaut in its earlier days, 
although most of his work was in the line of department matter and verse. For 
a long time he conducted a department called " Fancy Free." Among his stories 
which old Argonaut readers will remember are: "The Lass That Loved a 
Sailor," " Over a Wall," " The Dream Lady," " The Tales of the Waters," 
''Three Days of Grace" and "A Cigarette Story." 

Among stories of the West are some relating to life on the railroad, in 
the railroad towns and with the Indians. Not very many have attempted them. 
Among them the most successful is Frank Bailey Millard. He has of late years 
occupied his time in editing a metropolitan daily, which leaves him little time 
for story writing, even if it left him the inclination. Editorial work rather takes 
the creative faculty out of a man. It is a pity, for Mr. Millard did some remark- 
ably good work in that line. Among his stories may be mentioned: " Chumming 
With an Apache," " The Brake-beam Rider," "On Caliente Trail," "Yellow 
Gold," "A Whole Man," "On the Toano Grade" and " Lish of Alkali Flat." 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 207 

Another writer who has done some excellent railroad stories is Edward 
Munson, who is, I believe, in the railroad service. A piece of liis work, called 
" Old Hard Luck," is the story of a veteran railroad engineer whose ambition 
was to "get ofi' the freight engine" and "haul varnished cars." How he 
reached his goal, and liow he went out on an express train — in a coffin — is most 
pathetically told. Among Mr. Munson's stories are these: "The Thirst for 
Odd," "An Animal Elixir," "Rise and Shine, " "An Arizona Meeting," "The 
Heir of Almohaza," and " Old Hard Luck." 

A Western writer who has produced some remarkable stories of life on the 
frontier, at army posts, and among the Indians, is Wm. S. O'Neill, who writes 
over the signature of " Buckey O'Neil." There is a grimness about his style at 
times which affects one's nerves. The subtle way in which he describes the feel- 
ings of a man who for a reward has shot a highwayman, and watches the dying 
man's blood coloring the snow, would be difficult to surpass. Mr. O'Neill has not 
written many stories, but they are all of them strong. Here are the titles of a 
few: "The Man who Stayed Beliind," "Taking no Chances," "Don llamon's 
Revenge," "Colonel's Daughter," "A Venture with Death," and " Five Hundred 
Dollars Reward.'' 

One of the branches of the Western story is that which describes the great 
cattle-ranches of Wyoming, Utah and other territories. R. L. Ketchum has had 
that field almost to himself. His cowboy is the real cowboy, and not the fan- 
tastic creature of the stage. He has written a number of stories for the Argonaut, 
among which are these: "Billy Brag," "Evangelist Brick," "A Tenderfoot," 
"Hat," "The Undressed Kid," "Sudden Widows," "A Roman-Nosed Maverick," 
" Sliorty Lochinvar," "Two Women," "A Siieep in Wolf's Clothing," "Nita's In- 
lieritance," " Love or Money," "Hicks-Brown Divorce," " El Superintendente," 
''A Bad Man," " The Auditor's Wife," "At the Baile," "Mat's Husband," "A 
Pullman Episode," "How Pink Went Home," and "The Feud of ELickey Town- 
ship." Mr. Ketchum, also, has laid aside the pen of tlie story writer, and is now 
filling an editorial position on a Chicago daily. 

Another type of story is not distinctly Western, but rather metropolitan. 
I refer to the i)ictures of life in a polyglot city such as San Francisco is. Still 
the scene of such stories might be laid in many other places. E. W. Townsend 
produced a number of remarkably clever sketches of life among newspaper men, 
artists and other Bohemians, the scene being laid in San Francisco. Among 
them are, " Casey," "Andre Was Fresh,"" An Anarchist," "An Unavailable 
Sensation," " Tom Paget," "The Lost Chord," "The Tin Puppy Girl," "The 
Lady at the Morgue," " Me Side Pardner," "An Immoral Providence," "A 
Daughter of the Stage," "The Uates Mystery," "He Being a Philosopher," "Mr. 
Hobbs," "The Vandewater Story" and "Who Gets Out the Paper." This last 
has been copied in several hundred newspapers. Mr. Townsend is now in New 
York, doing similar work for the New York Sun, with gratifying success. Ilis 
dramatis personce, transplanted from North Beach to Washington Square, seem to 
thrive. 

A series of similar sketches appeared in the Argonaut from the pen of 



208 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Thomas J. Vivian. Mr. Vivian was a special writer on the San Francisco 
Chronicle, generally preparing statistical articles. That he sliould in his lighter 
moments turn to sketches of theatrical ladies at supper, cabinets particuliers and 
French waiters, is odd ; but perhaps it is for tlie same reason tliat sextons are 
said to be enamored of beer and skittles. Mr. Vivian has now definitely aban- 
doned story writing, and is in tlie Bureau of Statistics at Washington. 

Among the younger writers who liave appeared in the Argonaut of hiie 
years is Charles Dwight AVillard. Mr. W'ilhinl has invaded ahnost every iield of 
fiction witli his pen. jNIucli of his work has apjieared over various jiseudonyms. 
He is a modest man, and when he wrote something particularly good he imme. 
diately became ashamed of it and affixed some pseudonym. His mediocre work, 
for some strange reason, he always signed with his full name. One of his most 
striking stories was entitled " The Fall of Ulysses," aud related to the phenom- 
enal intelligence of the Indian elephant. It was copied all over the world. 
Another, "The Jack Pot," is a pearl among short stories. It is about one thou- 
sand words long, and is a symmetrical, well-rounded piece of work. It has a 
beginning, a middle aud an end — some stories have no end, and some should 
never have had a beginning — and in it the dramatic unities are unviolated, the 
reader is kept in suspense, the climax is looked for breathlessly, and when it 
comes it is entirely unsuspected. Here are the titles of some of Mr. Willard's 
Argonaut stories: ''County Eoads," "Sleep No More," "Poor Little Girl," 
"Female Relations," "Second Death," "Subsidy Bill," "A Lost Soul," " The 
Earlier Bird," "A Brother's Keeper," "By Any Other Name," "The Herald of 
Fate," "The Fall of Ulysses," "The Doppelganger,'' "The Diamond of Dorez,'' 
"King Cole," " The Itinerary of Caliban.'' "The I'alimpsest," "The Turn of a 
Hand," '' Tomasson," "Auto-da-fe," "The Earth Bubble," "Sentence Sus- 
pended," " Evolution of News," "The Jack Pot," "The Family Tree," "An 
Introduction," " A Hairs of State," "Fingal the Hoodo," " A SuperHuous Man," 
"A Sense of Justice"' " Joan of Arc," "The Scapegoat," "This Mortal Coil" 
and "An Amendment of Destiny.'" It is melancholy to be forced to add, as in 
preceding cases, that Mr. Willard has ceased story writing. He has become 
secretary of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and is doubtless prosperous 
and unhappy. 

Occasionally a single story will be sent in by a writer of whom we never 
hear again. Among them is one, "The Sorcery of Asenath," by L. A. Muuger 
which stands out strongly in my memory. It is a tale of V^oodooism in the 
South, and of the devilish arts practiced by a quadroon woman to win her master 
away from his wife. It is a most powerful piece of work. 

Arthur ^IcEwen has written stories for the Argonaut — too few. Among 
them I remember these : " Which took him," "My Brother Judas," " An Abalone 
Secret " and "Genevieve." But Mr. McEwen can make more money writing about 
political bosses than he can about lovers and their sweethearts. 

Robert Howe Fletcher has written some clever frontier stories for the 
Argonaut, all of which were subsequently printed in book form by the Appletons. 
Among them are these : " Corner Lots," " The Johnstown Stage," " Dick," 
"Moses Cohen," "Cast Away" and " Louise." 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 209 

A very curious character was Nathan Kouns, who wrote for the Argonaut 
years ago over the signature of " Nathan the Essenian." He was a mystic. 
Much of his work was devoted to discussions of pyschological problems, such as 
the Godhead of Christ. But he also wrote stories — strange, mystical stories, 
with a tinge of supernaturalisni. I renieniber that in one the scene was laid on 
a Southern battlefield, where tiie narrator finds the body of a dead soldier, whose 
fingers, when touched, close tightly upon tiie disturbing hand. Tiiereupon the 
narrator becomes obsessed with the soul of the dead man, and, carrying these two 
souls in the one botly, be returns to the lioine of the dead man, and there, im- 
l)elled by the tortured soul, marries a girl whom the dead soldier had wronged. 

Nathan Kouns fought through the war on the Southern side and reached 
the rank of Major. Ife wrote an historical romance called " Arius the Libyan," 
which was published by the A|>pletons and attracted much attention. Here are 
the titles of some of his stories: "Alabam','' "Tucker the Scout," "The Taite 
Twin," "How Atlanta Surrendered," "The Wraith of Stephen Arnold," "The 
Man Dog" and "Tholuj the Hanged." 

W. C. Morrow has written some of the most striking of the Argonaul siiort 
stories. Mr. Morrow's stories are utterly unlike those of any other writer 
with whom I am familiar. Some of them are akin to Poe's " Tales of the Gro- 
tesque and Arabestpie," but there are marked points of difference. Mr. Morrow 
has the peculiar synthetic cast of mind that was so strongly marked in Poe, but 
the feminine tinge is absent. In some of Mr. Morrow's stories there is a tendency 
toward the horrible which I think many will condenm. The terrible is legiti- 
mate literary material ; the iiorrible is not. Death is terrible ; mutilation is 
horrible. Mr. Morrow inclines toward tiienies which horrify his readers while 
they fascinate them. Still no one can deny the great power of his work. An- 
nexed are the titles of some of Mr. Morrow's stories in the Argonaut: "Awful 
Shadows," " Burning of the College," " A Nigiit in New Orleans," " The Blood. 
hound.s," "The Three Hundred," "A Struggle with Fate," "A Night with 
Death," "The Three I^^riends," "The Surgeon's Experiment," "The Rajah's 
Nemesis," "The Typewriter," " .V Case in Surgery," "A Cry for Help," "An 
Unusual Conclusion," "The Woman of the Inner Iloom," "The Wrong Door," 
" The Red Strangler," " Christopher and the Fairy," "Tiie Ape and the Idiot," 
"Some (^ueer Experiences," " A Tragedy on the Ranch," "Madame Forrestier," 
and " Mated Rubies." 

A writer who has done much good work for the Argonaut is Robert Dun- 
can Milne. Mr. Milne excels in a peculiar vein — what I call the pseudo-scientific. 
He possesses the art of making the impossible seem possible. Mr. Milne has 
taken the Argonaut readers to the North Pole in an air ship ; he has led thera 
into the bowels of the earth like the troglodytes; he has flown with them into 
celestial regions; he has established communication with Mars by means of a 
colossal aerial reflector; he has bombarded them (in San Francisco) with Chilean 
guns; he has dropped dynamite upon them (in California) from hostile balloons; 
he has hired a buccaneer to steal seventy millions from their treasury in San 
Francisco; he has destroyed the world in a terrific cataclysm, and brought to 



210 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

their notice a gentleuuin who remained frozen in :i block of ice for ten thousand 
years, but whom Mr. Milne kindly thawed out and introduced. 

This last story had the following curious sequel. One morning the 
Argonaut's large mail was abnormally swollen. On examination it was found that 
an European mail was to hand, and that most of the letters came from Austria, 
from Hungary, from Croatia, from Servia, and from Herzegovina. These letters 
were in various languages, but most of them in German, which fortunately we 
could read. They came from people in every station of life — small shopkeepers, 
military orticers, professional men, actors, and what not. All wrote in a condi- 
tion of breathlessness, demanding further particulars cjncerning the gentleman 
who had been frapped. Mr. Milne had promised a sequel to his story, but 
circumstances prevented his writing it. The excited vassals of Francis 
Joseph never had their curiosity satisfied. It seems that the avalanche of letters 
was due to the fact that Madame Fanny Steinitz, a lady living in Buda Pesth, 
had translated the story for the Pesther Lloyd, a widely circulated journal. Hence 
the commotion. Annexed is a list of a number of Mr. Milne's Argonaut stories : 
"The World's Cataclysm,,' "A Female Highwayman," "Telepathy," "An Arti- 
ticial Mirage," "The Eidoloscope," "A AVireless Telegraph,'' "A Modern Pro- 
teus," "The New Theosophy,'' "The Shalt of Amargosa," " Modern Kobe of 
Nessus," "A New Alchemy," " Philip Hall's Air Ship," "A Trip to the Pole," 
"Alchemy," "The Aerial Ketlector," "A Dip Into Space," " A Peep at the 
Planets," "Bombardment of San Francisco," "The Iguanodon's Egg," "The 
Comet," "Into the Sea," "Plucked From the Burning," "Theft of Seventy 
Millions," " New Palingenesis," " A Dead Man's Ring," "The Magic Mirror," 
"An Occult Story," "A River Tragedy," "An Electrical Experiment," "The 
Russian Invasion," " A Family Skeleton," "A Telescopic Marvel" and "The 
Transfusion of Blood." 

But the length to which this article is extending warns me to stop. 
There are mmy other writers of whom I would like to speak at length, but space 
forbids. I must be content with mentioning some of the titles of their stories: 

Dr. J. C. Tucker — "Seeking the Golden Fleece" and "The Legend of 
Squaw Rock."' 

Alice S. Wolf — "And After," "A Fixed Idea," "Knolly's Story" and 
" In His Stead." 

N. A. Cox— "A Game of Cards." 

Laura Ensor — " Soldier's Wives." 

F. J. Sheltema — "A Boudoir Study" and "The Duchess, the ^Monkey and 
the Rose." 

Mrs. E. S. Bates— "A Scoop." 

E. M. Ludlum— " A Coquette in Camp," " Madame," " Anti Ego Pact," 
"Finding Tom Blythe," "Old Bob Borley '' and "Friendless in Fifty." 

Ralph Sydney Smith— " That Traitor of Mine" and "An Idyl of the 
Harbor." 

H. D. Bigelow — " Blot on the Scutcheon." 

L. H. AVall— " Two of a Kind." 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 211 

Mrs. Austin (Betsy B.) — ''A Tale of Modern Improvements" and "An 
Idyl of Carlsbad." 

Thomas J. Mosier— "The Quicksand." 

Jolm Bonner— " Teddy's Corset" and "The Burglar." 

Emma F. Dawson — "Second Card," "Singed Moths," "Are the Dead 
Dead?" " Was She Guilty ? " and " A Warning Ghost." 

Mrs. F. H. Longhead — " A Cherished Antipathy," " A Woman of the 
Town," "The Death Train," "A Massachusetts Man," "The Sheritl's Peril," 
^' Sentenced for Life," "An Exact Science," "Chinatown Contrabands," "The 
Marquis O'Shaughnessy " and "Santos' Brother." 

Mrs. J. II. S. Bugeia — "Old Jacquot," "Jerry's True Story," "Humming 
Bird Hill," " Daddy Long Legs," " Humble Pie," "The King of the World," 
*' Sweet Basil," " Compensation " and " A Blighted Rose." 

Miss Geraldine Bonner — "The Sailing of the Boomerang" and "Mrs. 
Jimmie's War." 

C. H. Shinn — " A Monterey Teacher" and "Writing in Geode." 

Ada Cunnick Inchbold — "iNIissing — A Husband." 

G. 11. de Vare — " A Maiden of Alaska." 

Ella Sterling Cummins — "Manzanita" and "Occult Marriage." 

G. A. Rene — "My Lord of Niedeck." 

Annie Like Townsend — " An Abysmal Episode," " Helpmeet for Him," 
" She Being a Philosopher," "Metempsychosis," "Lover and Lass," "The Gold 
Lust," "A Terrible Night," "Girl Diplomacy," "A Desperate Flirtation," 
"Love and W:ir," "Moth and Candle," "The Withered Hand," "It Is Com- 
mon," "A Great Experiment" and "Amusing the Ladies." 

William McKendree Bangs — " Two Men and a Woman." 

Josephine F. Hunter — " Miguel's Hide." 

E. K. Foster — " Don Federico's Crypt." 

Isaac H. Stathem — "The Accident to the Cygnus." 

Dorothea Lummis — " His Shorter Catechism," " A Prelude," " Woman's 
Unreason " and "The Call of Duty." 

M. M. Hoke — "Reaching Hand" and "Heart of Stone." 

Frank Loringen — " Fire-eating Colonel," " Mexican Sexton " and " Sexton 
Garcia." 

B. F. Norris— " The Son of a Sheik." 

L. H. White— "As the Tree Falls." 

Dan O'Connell — " Ghoul's Quest." ^ — 

Anne Reeve Aldrich — " My Devil and I." 

It is unnecessary to say that the foregoing list, long as it is, does not repre- 
sent all of the Argonaut work. We have printed much matter by Bret Harte, 
Mark Twain, Julian Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson and many other 
writers of more than local fame. But as most of the matter was printed in con- 
junction with the New York Sun, the two journals dividing the cost, the Argo- 
naut does not claim it as original. This arrangement between the Sun and the 
Argonaut,hy the way, was the foundation of the present " literary syndicate" 



JIJ CAI.IKOKNIAN \VK1TKRS AND LITERATURE. 

system wliioli hns gi\nvn so ivinmon. NVhon it exteiiilini to more than two 
papers, the .4r(7t>niiij/ witlulrew 1'n.^m it, und has never published any syndicate 
matter sin«.v. I have also let't minotio^i the vast mass ot" tn\nsh\ted matter 
which the -4t-<7i>HnM< has priuteil. Some of the most exquisite fancies of Theo- 
phile Gautier tirst appeareii in English in the Argonaut. So. too. much of Guy 
de Maup.«issant"s work appearotl in its ovUnmns before he became tamous. The 
Ivst short stories ot" Alphottse Dandet have all been translateil for the .4r<^1»ull-?. 
But, as I sc\id in the boginning of those notes, I have Iven rev^uestevl to oontine 
myself to the subjct-'t of original short stories. — Jaxitne A. HarL 

One of the celebrated writers for the .Ir^onijuf was Richard 
Realf, whose poems are remarkable for strength and beauty, and 
also for tliat depth of hnman leeling- which touches the heart. 
From the Argonaut is quoted the following : 

The readers of the .Iw-wiu will reinenilvr to have read from time to 
time in these ivlnmns some very strx^ug and original poems sigueti Kiohard Kealf. 
Kealf was an Knglishman of gotxl birth, was the associate of literary men and 
women of highest rank in his native ivinury ; came to America, and in the 
Ixirdcr ditliciilties of Kans;is was an admirer and adherent of John Brown of 
cV^iwatomie. He servevl. and with honorable distinction, through our war. was 
uix>i\ the stattof General John K. Miller, and was highly esteemed by him. He 
wae a poet, a gentleman, a genius. Domestic ditliculties shadowevi his lite. He 
freoi.1 himself from them and lite's troubles by seeking and tinding in Oakland a 
suicide's grave. On the day InMore he acvvmplishevl his fate he wrv>te the follow- 
ing poem : 

YALK ! 

"J>f morfui* nil «i>i 6oH«m," When 

For me this end has Oi.'>me and I am dead. 
And the little, voluble, chattering daws of men 

Peck at me curiously, let it then be s;»id 
By some one brave enough to tell the truth : 

Here lies a great soul kille^i by cruel wrong. 
I\>wn all the b.>ilmy days of his fresh youth 

To his bleak, desolate nix>n. with swonl and song. 
And sptxx^h that rushevi up hotly fr\>m the heart. 

He wnnight for liWrty. till his own wvMuid 
^He had Iv^ni stabl>etl\ i\>U(.valeil by painful art 

rhn>ugh wasting years, mastere^l him and he swooned, 
And sank there wherx> vou see him lying now 
With that worxl " Failure" written on his brow. 

But S!\y that he succeevlevl. If he missed 
World's honors, and world's plaudits, and the wage 

Of the world's dett lacv^ueys. still his lil^s were kissevi 
Daily by those high angels who assuage 



THK ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 2 1^ 

Tlio thirstings of tlie poets — for he was 

Horn unto singing — and a burthen lay 
Mightily on him, and lie moaned beoanse 

He could not rightly utter in the day 
What Cxod taught in the night. Sometimes, natheless, 

Power fell upon him, and bright tongues of llanie, 
vVnd blessings reached him t'roni poor souls in stress; 

And benedictions from the black pits of shame, 
And little children's love, and old men's prayers. 
And a Great Hand that led him unawares. 

80 he died rich. And if his eyes were blinred 

With thick films — silence! he is in his grave, 
lireatly he sutVered ; greatly, too, he erred; 

Yet broke his heart in trying to be brave. 
Nor did he wait till Freedom had become 

The popular shibboleth of courtiei-s' lips ; 
But smote for her when liod himself seemed dumb 

Aud all his arching skies were in eclipse. 
He was a-weary, but he fought his tiglit, 

And stood for simple manhood ; and was joyed 
To see the august broadening of the light 

And new earths heaving heavenward from the void. 
He loved his fellows, and their love was sweet — 
Plant daisies at his heail aud at his feet. 

A movement having been made lately in Oakland to give 
recognition to the poet who died in a strange land so sadly, the 
subject was taken up by the Examiner of San Francisco as fol- 
lows : 

Fifteen years ago Richard Realf, poet and soldier, a man who was brave 
enough to face the armies of the South, yet who could not face the world and 
domestic troubles, took his life by his own hand in an Oakland hotel. For fifteen 
years a lonely grave has stood in the Soldiers' plot of the Odd Fellows' Cemetery 
in S:in Francisco, marked only by a simple headstone that told nothing save that 
he had served his country in the Fiftieth Illinois Volunteers, and that he had 
risen to be a" Lieutenant-Colonel. The rest of the record is on the books of the 
Coroner of Alameda county, and among some stray leaves and notes that have 
recently been collected by his friends, who now propose to collect his scattered 
poems as the truest and most lasting monument to his memory. 

The story of Kealfs life is one of pathos and romance, and it is best told 
by Ivlla Sterling Cummins in the article read at the recent authors' meeting in 
Oakland. 

Richard Realf was a soldier and patriot as well as a poet. 



214 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITKRATURE. 



In scrutinizing his portrait and dwelling upon his lineaments he seemed 
to have that facial mold which belonged to the Generals of the War ©f the 
Kebellion — that type of face which is essentially characteristic of Logan, Han- 
cock and McClellan. In his eye there is not 90 much dreaminess or reverie as 
quick, determined action. 

In tracing his career he seems always to be struggling against the "com- 
bined forces of the adverse," with all his intentions noble and generous. For 
this reason his pathetic story has come to be of great interest since his tragic 
death, and the fanciful tale of his having been the child of Lord Byron has been 
introduced to give him claim to even greater romance, though this tale has 

arisen from a misapprehension of facts. 
Realf's own story of his father and 
mother is enough to give denial to this 
legend, without falling back on the fact 
that Lord Byron died in 1824, ten years 
before Kealf s birth. 

From the sketch written by Rossiter 
Johnson in the Lippincott of March, 
1879, the facts, of his career may be ob- 
tained. There is no reason to doubt that 
Richard Realf was of peasantry stock, 
born in Sussex, England, in the year 
1834 — one of a large family of children, 
and at an early age went to work in the 
fields. With only a year or two at the 
village school, yet he soon began to ven- 
ture into flights of verse, and aroused the attention of those who employed him, 
notably that of a phrenologist, who first proclaimed him in the fashionable resort 
of Brighton, England, as an example presenting a marvelous development of the 
quality of ideality. From this announcement many came to see him, including 
Lady Byron and her daughter Ada ; Rogers, the poet ; Mrs. Jameson, Miss Mit- 
ford. Miss Martineau, Lady Jane Peel and others, who all united in spoiling the 
youth with well-meant but ill-advised patronage and condescension. 

It was at this time and under their auspices that his first poems were pub- 
lished under the title of "Guesses at the Beautiful." 

Recognizing the fact that these were false surroundings to one of his posi-^ 
tion in life, and " that they were making him forgetful of the honest peasant 
ancestry from which he sprang," at his earnest solicitation Lady Byron gave him. 
a position upon one of her estates. Of Lady Byron he says: "With the excep- ■ 
tion of my mother, I think she was the noblest woman I ever knew." 

It was here that he formed an attachment for a young lady of position, 
but the social gulf that stretched between them could never be bridged in this 
world. He passed through a severe illness in consequence, and upon recovery 
set sail for America. 

Of himself he says: "I had always from my earliest dawn of thought and 




RICHARD REALF. 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 215 

knowledge, with respect to classes and conditions of men, held the republican 
principle." 

Upon his arrival in New York, in 1854, he devoted himself to the poorer 
classes, organizing a course of cheap lectures, and providing them with a library 
and assisting in missionary efforts. 

Two years later, with Senator Pomeroy and others, he conducted a large 
company of Free-State emigrants to Kansas. Afterward Kealf was placed on 
the staff of General H. Lane and made the acquaintance of old John Brown, 
who, in organizing his proposed Provisional Government, named Kealf as Secre- 
tary of State. Realf was a participator in those stirring scenes with Frederick 
Douglass and the Abolitionists in their efforts to precipitate the conflict which 
afterward shook the nation to its center. 

And there are those who tell of having heard him speak with a power and 
an eloquence beyond the orators of even that day upon these questions in Canada 
and elsewhere, his duties taking him on a tour through the Southern States and 
England. 

In 1852 he enlisted in the Eighty-eighth Illinois Infantry, in which he 
rose to the rank of Captain. He was honorably mentioned for gallantry at 
Chickamauga, and when his regiment was discharged at the close of the war he 
was transferred to the Fifteeth Colored Infantry and finally mustered out with the 
rank of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the spring of 1866. 

A variety of vicissitudes befell him during the next few years, which col- 
ored the remaining years of his life and wrecked the happiness of a man who 
deserved better things of Fate. 

After a serious illness, during which, Realf writes in a letter, " his mind 
was so obscured that he did not know what he was about," he made an unfortun- 
ate marriage. The result of his fatal step was that he enlisted as a common 
soldier in the regular army with a view of getting out on the plains and taking 
part in the Indian wars then agitating the West, and in a state of despair, as he 
writes, " to get a bullet put through me." 

All this time his verses were going the rounds of the daily press, appear- 
ing in the Atlantic and elsewhere, with that hint of the touch of Shelley which is 
so remarkable. As soon as the fact of Realf 's enlistment came to the ears of 
General Schofield, Secretary of War, he ordered his discharge, and he was then 
made Assessor of Internal Revenue in South Carolina. Ail his leisure time was 
then given to the instruction of the blacks, teaching the children by day and 
their parents by night. 

After another succession of vicissitudes and illness he accepted a place 
on the editorial staff of a Pittsburgh paper. He had a fair salary and earned a 
good deal by outside work, but he was weighted down by responsibilities, having 
brothers and sisters dependent upon him, as well as his parents. 

Nothing can so well portray the inner self of the man as a quotation from 
a letter of this time, in which he says: 

" The lecture platform is my proper place, and I must make more money 
or I cannot much longer feed all the mouths that depend on me. Four years ago I 



:ri6 CAI.IKOKNIAN WKITKRS AND I.ITKRATURE 

sent for my young<?st sister aiui hor luisbsiul and thoir little ones. They are 
near me here, very poor in this world's goods but very rich in love and tender- 
ness. It has so been ordei-ed also that a widowed sister and her family in 
Kngland and a poor paralytie brother and his family theie are my wanls. And 
snored father and mother are old and poor, tiK>; we are all poor together, and 
all are well beloveil. Pon't you think my work, ovon if it is hard and weari- 
son»e. is lit'ttnl out of drudgery bv this?" 

And this is tlie tone of sweetness which seems to pervade the man's 
Mature throughout, amid all his perplexities and ditVioulties. 

It sometimes setMus to be a question how closely we should prvibe into 
the private life of those whose gifts have attractetl the attention of the public. 
In the case of Kichanl Kealf theiv are only the sorrows and the perplexities 
.ind the trials of a sensitive naturt^ to l>e exposed to the microsivpe of the 
analytically inclineil. 

After being legally tVeetl. as he thought, tVom the chains of his unt'ortnn- 
ate marriage, he sougiit to tiud happiness as a relief to his bitter past by marry- 
ing apiin. And in lacing domestic cares as a f'ather and husband, this l>eautifal 
nature of his comes to the surfaiv upon every invasion. His intense sympathy 
and t'eeliug make him carry more than his share of the burden. His wit'e tailing 
ill with acute rheumatism, he tells of it as tollows: 

"She is utterly helpless. 1 have nurseti her and my K\v and have cvH^ked 
and swept as best 1 ev^uld. I have expendeti all the money of which I am pivs- 
sess».\l in the world with the exception of five dollars. 1 have paid the rent for 
the current month. 

" I thank you very dtvply for all your goodness in euivuraging me reganl- 
ing my writing. Hut you can judge how impossible it has been for me in this 
culminative stres* to do any worthy work. Sometimes 1 fear I am losing my 
grip on my sell'. 

" IV you know of anybody in this city who would give me a huudreti or a 
hundred and tifty dollars, cash down, for the sole right and title to all I may 
have written? If 1 could get a hundretl and tit'\y dollars t'or my vei-ses 1 would 
send Liwie to a gvunl h^vspital and take a ticket for myself to San Frsueisco at 
oniv. I should take my little boy with me. and l.ii/.ie would come as soc>n as she 
was .able to travel. 1 will tell you when 1 see you the rv'ason why 1 am so desir- 
ous tv> got away, far away, (.''ut in San Francis<.v 1 can lind work and reiMver my 
poise, as I have many friends therr. In the Kast. owing to the unpleasant cir- 
cinnstamvs. 1 can never be able to do that of what I am capable. 

" 1 should have had mom y enough to carry us thrvnigh the sr.nuner but 
fv>r LiiAie's prvilonge^l illness and the other misfortunes. 1 never thought to have 
breathed these privacies to living man. but 1 am in an agony of apprehension 
and dread ivui^rning the immeiliate I'uturi^ of my wife and child, unless 1 can 
somehow n\anage to sell my poor verses for the sum 1 have nanu\l. 

" 1 am not at all to blame for the pov'uuiary misfortunes that have over- 
taken me. 1 shall re.vver them if my health and mind hold, l^ut pr.iy. dear sir, do 
not permit any p.irt of these conhdifUvVS to get into the newsp.^pers, at least while 
1 live." 



TllK ARCONAUT SCHOOL,. 217 

After this Kealf himself foil ill, oatohing an atVeelion of the eyes from his 
little boy, aiul had to go to the hospital tor treatment. Upon liis recovery he set 
out for the l'ai.'itic Coasl^writing for the Aif/onaut and other papers here — and 
this is how it happens that Richard Kealf lias come to belong to us of the west- 
ern shore of America, ami why it is that fifteen years after we are thus celebrat- 
ing his memory. 

lie was appointed by General .John V. Miller, uiulor whom he had scrveil 
in the war, to a place in the San Francisco Mint. And it seemed now as if the 
cloud which had so persistently hovered over his head was about to lift and blue 
sky be his portion at last. 

Late in October, 1878, he was preparing tor the reception of his wife and 
little one, making ready the place that was to be their liome, when, sorrowful to 
relate, the same misery which had made it impossible for him to live in the East 
and be himself pursued him to th<^ western shore in tlie form of his first wife, 
who never relinquished her hold upon him. She had succeeded in getting a 
rehearing on the divorce, which had been granted once, and now threatened any- 
thing and everything. He was to be proclaimed a bigamist, and his wife and 
children dishonored. 

Tiie sorrowful end of Kichard Realf, the remarkable linos he wrote while 
facing his approaching death, are known wherever his verse is known, and that 
is everywhere in the English-speaking world. Too sensitive, too highly over- 
strung, he could not grapple with such ditliculties as a man with a harder heart 
might have done. In every instance, in every little position of life, he reveals 
over a modesty and gentleness which touch the heart, though to assert his loyalty 
he would strike down the man who defamed his friend. Whatever his gifts, his 
accomplishments, it must be said, so far as we can know him from these sketches 
by his admirers and those letters of his own, that the study of the man reveals a 
quality not less beautiful than that of the study of the poet. 

In many cases poets have to be forgiven so much because of their being 
so set above and apart from the rest of mankind that the same laws and conven- 
tionalities do not apply to them. A poet is evolved only out of great suflering 
and because of his greater capacity for suflering, and necessarily he reaches the 
heights where ordinary mortals cannot go. But judged even from the ordinary 
point of view, Kealf teemed to stand tlie test, notwithstanding the circumstances 
of the case. 

He sutl'ered and died because he could not endure the misapprehension 
and misunderstanding of the ordinary world. 

Indeed, the peculiar accumulation of burdens thus heaped upon any one 
man seem almost incredible. Perhaps even the ordinary man, less sensitive, 
could have endurcil them oven with less strength of heart. 

"Why Fate should have been so cruel is a mystery beyond our ken. If, less 
pursued by vindictive Fortune, he had bten allowed to expand beneath blue 
skies, and the growth of his powers had been allowed to reacii the fullest elllor- 
escence, we might have added from our shores another brilliant name to the 
great poets, As it is, he has carved a name that will not be forgotten and made 
an ineffaceable record uinni the hearts of many — and while he was not born upon 



2l8 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

our shores, nor dwelt with us long, yet by his death he has become identified with 
us and we claim him. 

As for a deep and analytical study of his poems and a defining of his 
proper place in the list of poets, all we know is that the lines touch the heart as 
well as the intellect, that every scrapbook has caught and treasured them as 
something sweeter, something rarer than the usual song of the usual poet. 

And while others place him, autlioritatively, very high among the stars of 
the heavens, we still realize that we have in these poems which he left us merely 
a fragmentary part of a great poet's thought. From the kuown part we are 
inclined to judge the unknown wliole, and yet when the critic of the future shall 
judge of Realf merely by these few poems, he will consider it a small evidence 
upon which to predicate a great poet. But he will say the true and unerring 
instinct was there, that the feeling was there and that the power of utterance 
was there. 

Realf wanted to achieve. He wanted to feel his powers expanding and 
developing. He wanted to speak the thoughts which in him rose. 

What answer is there for such unfulfilled hopes ns these? What answer 
is there for any of us who have aspirations and longings and desires, and yet fall 
asleep by the wayside with empty hands? 

If failure be thy part, O heart, 

What compensation shalt thou find 
For thy weary years and thy bitter tears 

And thy mission half-divined? 
But this can comfort bring to thee, 

That like a sounding knell. 
Men shall say on thy judgment day, 

"This little u-ork is done irell."—E. S. C. 

It remained for the authors and a few of his literary admirers to make 
this last effort for the perpetuation of his memory, and when they began the 
movement Joaquin Miller gave his approval in his own peculiar way when he 
wrote, " Let us not give a stone to a man to whom the public refused bread.'* 
So the monument fund was begun by an entertainment given at the Unitarian 
Church in Oakland, and it will he continued by the publication of his poems in 
a special subscription edition. A regular association lias been formed for the 
purpose of collecting and publishing his poems and his life, with Alexander G. 
Hawesof San Francisco, R. J. Hinton of Washington, D. C. Realf 's literary 
executor, Rev. J. K. McLean of Oakland as the Executive Committee, Rev. C. 
W. Wendte of Oakland as the Treasurer, and David Lesser Lezinvky of 1016 
Sutter Street, San Francisco, as Secretary. Others will assist, and subscriptions 
are already being received for the book, the publication of which is assured. 

Regarding Edward L. Townsend, the following is quoted 
from the Cosmopolitari Magazine : 

Mr. Townsend, one of the cleverest of the younger journalists, has con- 



THK ARCiONAUT SCHOOL. 



219 



tributed a number of stories to the local press which have been widely copied in 
the East, and attracteil much attention, notably "The (Jatcs Family Mystery," 
and "Old Henjamiii." 

Of Robert Duncan Milne, Mrs. Atherton says : 

lie has an extravagant imaj^ination, but under it is a reassurinj^ and 
scientific mind. lie takes such a premise as a comet faliini,' into the sun, and 
works out a terribly realistic series of results; or iui will invent a drama for 
Saturn which nuglit well have grown out of that planet's conditions. His style 
is so good and so convincing that one is ajit to lay down such a story as the 
former with an anticipation of night- 
mare, if comets are hanging about. Ilif^ ^^ f 
sense of humor and literary taste will 

always stop him the right side of the^^ p ^5^ 

grotesque. ^^ M^'^ 

Regarding Iv. H. Clough, one 
of the best-known writers of the 
Argonauf, William Morrow, 
speaks, and here expresses ad- 
miration for his literary work : 

It is a positive loss to the literature 
of California that E. 11. Clough has ap-l 
parently withdrawn from Iterary work' 
and seen fit to confine his uncommon 
genius to the editorial columns of .1 
newspaper. While it is true that he i 
one of the most brilliant paragraph wri( 
ers in the country, it is true also that In 
has published stories of remarkal>l< 
power. In a sense, he and the late J . W, 
dally were the true successors of Bret 
Ilartein aline which has made Ilarte 
immortal. In 1878, 1879 and 1880 

Clough was confessor to the ambitious geniuses of iha^'Arnuttnut scliool," and 
when Somers and Roman founded the old Cnllfornian, he was one of the few 
selected to contribute to the first number. His story was entitled "Why They 
Lynched Ilim." It was a strange, strong, grim picture of life in the mines. In 
the Ai-gonaul he published many stories, and at one time ran a series of sketches. 
from week to week, that discovered rich material which Ilarte had overlooked 
"The Kiss of Death "and other peculiar and uncanny stories which he con- 
tributed to the Argonaut, apart from those referring to life in the mines, dis- 
played various and always surprising phases of his talent — all original and 




KOHhKT DUNCAN MII.NH. 



220 



CALIFORXIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



unique. As he has not vet rvaohevi the prime of manhood, tliere ar* manv who 
still hoj>e that what remains of his youth may not be stripj>ed of all its romance 
and sentiment Wfore he has employed them often agnin in the higher forms of 
his art, — 11". C Moivvtr. 

Krauk Bailey Millard is the name of the Caliloniiau whose 
story, " Chmumiiig With au Apache." has been so popularly 
received iu the East and Europe, as indicative of the fact that 
California is not yet written out or the literary mine exhausted. 

Mr. Millard was boni in 
Wisconsin in October, 
iv^50. and came to Califor- 
nia when not twenty years 
of ag«. being" employed in 
editorial work upon the 
San Francisco C~/?/iV/;V«V. the 
.-ir^onauf, and lately as 
city editor upon the Oi//. 
In addition to this work, 
which generally is suffi- 
cient to absorb all ones 
time, he has corresjx>nded 
for Eastern journals and 
published syndicate arti- 
cles. Mr. Millard has a 
faculty for biographical 
work, ha V in g writ ten 
sketches of the lives of most ot the prominent persons of the 
Pacific Coast. He has also intervieweii and written descriptions 
v>t General Grant. Getieral Hancock. Thomas Brennau. Lord 
Synge- Hutchinson. Patti, Scalchi. George Augustus Sala. Emma 
Abbott. Julia Ri\-e-King and Rudyan.! Kipling. 

But, outside of newspaper enterprise, Mr. Millard has a git\ 
all his own in writing original stories. His style is terse and 
crisp and epigTammatic, if a little abrupt. Of a late ston.- of his 
in the 0:rr;.i««/, George Hamlin Fitcli saj-s in tlie C*n>«/4vV .• 

The best bit of tiotion in the nnmWr is "^ Coyote-that-Bites." by Frank B, 
Millar^i. a study of the Ai^ohe. which conisins an original! scene as simple in 
treatment .^ it is stronsr ainl dramatic. 




THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. :;:!1 

From "A Railroad Ogre " : 

You may load some men to tho niuz/le with lioiiors and ttioy will iiovorbo 
anything but small and moan. 

From " Coyote-t hat- Bites " : 

In the low-rooted station the mother crooneii to tired little Cnxy, lying so 
soft and limp in her arms. She looked ont over the desert, saw the sun touching 
the tops of the solemn giant cacti with purple dots ; saw the prickly pear shrul>s 
holding their grotesque arms above the gieat sweep of sand that ran down to the 
low hori/.on, and I'elt the inspiration of the scene as she had ot'ten t'elt it before. 
For the desert has a beauty that is all its own. 

From ail " Idol ot" High Price " : 

Marryinu- a man to ret'onn him is a ticklish business. They say it can 
be made to work, but the tenement attics arc full of women that have tried it. 

The titles of some of Mr. Millard's published stories are as 
follows : 

"At Ritter-Creck Station."' 
"Forever and a Day." 
"His Athletic Wife." 
"Tlie Brake-Beam Rider." 
"On the Caliente Trail." 
" Chumming with an Apache.'" 
" Coyote-that-Bites." 

"Chumming- with an Apache" was republished iu manj' 
Eastern periodicals. It was printed in the New York Tribune, 
Sun and Recorder ow. the same Sundaj-, this being something ver>- 
unusual. " The Brake-Beam Rider" has also been widely re- 
printed. Both these stories originally appeared in the Argonaut. 

A voluiue of short stories by Mr. Millard will soon be issued 
in the East, and doubtless, as a whole, will be as original and 
strange in its way, compared with the usual collection of tales. 
as his separate stories are compared with the usual story. 
Whether Mr. Millard could sustain himself in the same style 
throughout the plot and action of a novel is an open question, 
but there is room for another Califomian novel on the same lines 
as those of "Robert Greathouse." and originality is the chief 
desideratum, after local color, both of which characteristics mark 
the style of Mr. Millard most felicitously. While there are always 



222 CALIKORNIAN WRITKRS AND LITERATURE. 

those who critici/.e, and some who object to the picturiug of the 
Apache as still roamiug Southern California, and thus preventing 
iniuiigiation, yet, from the artistic and dramatic point of view, 
Mr. Millard's stories are admirable. 

Standing out. even among the characteristic writings of the 
Arj^onauf school, is the literary work of William C. Morrow. 
There is something strange about the delicacy of treatment and 
gentleness of suggestion conveyed by his method of presentation 

that combines singularh- with 
r" -.'""r"'*-' the boldness of \lesign and 

! vigor of plot. Mr. Morrow 

is a purist. All his work is 
finished and correct a n d 
chaste in literary style. He 
makes no sudden descents. 
And if he lacks in rugged- 
ness and rustic spontauiety, 
he more than atones for the 
lack by his exceeding good 
taste. 

While there is a prevailing- 
idea that his stories are mostly 
morbid and peculiar, yet he 
wu.i.;.\M c. MOKRow. ^as the faculty of touching 

the heart as well as the imag- 
ination, as is shown in that remarkable tale published ten years 
ago in Somers' Ciif/n'm/a/:. It is entitled "The Man From 
Georgia." and tells of one who. though innocent, has been cou- 
den\ned to pass through the experiences of a convi'.n. I'pon his 
entrance to the world again he is such a creatuie of self-depreoa- 
tion that when he is asked his name or addressed in any way. he 
responds, "Me?'" It seems impossible to him that he should 
have a name, or that any one should address him. save by num- 
ber or like a dog, according to the custom of the prison system. 
At his heels drags an imaginary ball and chain, which he 
frequently has to pick up in order to hasten his steps. He 
becomes a faithtul servitor in a hotel, and when the plague comes 
cares for the sick and dviug tintil he, too, succiuubs to the dread 




THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 223 

disease. It is a stor}- which once read can never be forgotten. 
Of Mr. Morrow, Gertrude Franklin Atherton says : 

' A more dramatic opening to a story has seldom been written than this : 
" Looking at my friend as he lay npon my bed, with the jeweled knifo-handle pro- 
truding from his breast, 1 believed that he was dying. Would the physician 
never come?" In this story, " A Peculiar Case in ."-^urgery," W. C. Morrow 
writes a strong and curious study of a man who lived for years with the blade of 
a stiletto embedded near his heart. Mr. ^Morrow's power is further shown in his 
'' Unusual Conchision," a penetrating psychological study of a dishonored hus- 
band of whieli Maupiissant would not be ashamed, and in "A Dangerous Idea," 
which treats the subject of infusion upon an original basis. 1 have sjioken only 
of Mr. ^lorrow's studies, but he is equally a dramatic and interesting story-teller, 
with a clear, forcible style — a man of fine and peculiar gifts, who is destined to 
make a mark in literature. 

Of a former Sau Joseau, Library and Studio, Will Clemens' 
paper, says : 

W. C. Morrow, the well-known .tory writer and chief of the literary 
department of the iSouthern Pacific Company, is a tall, hanJsome man, mejisur- 
ing over six feet — in height, of course — a decided blonde, and one of the most 
delightful companions in the world. In years gone by Morrow was so thin that 
it was necessary to look the second lime to make sure of his presence, but now 
lie weighs one hundred and ninety pounds. His stories deal principally with the 
hidden motives of men and are interesting — yes, more, tliey are fasciuatinjr — be- 
cause of the profound learning they show, the deep insight into the mind and 
soul of man, and the exquisite handling of iiis phrases and unmistakable English. 
AVhile the events and characters he portrays in his stories do not always make 
pleasant characters to dwell upon, they are so full of original thought, give such 
perfect analysis of abnormal development of the human mind, that it is next to 
impossible to quit one of his tales wlien once begun. His writings are by no 
means all of this character, some of his sketches being models of charming 
descriptive work. 

William Chambers Morrow was born in Selma, Alabama. 
He came to California some fifteen years ago, and has always 
been identified with the newspapers and magazines of this State. 
His articles have appeared particularly in the Californian, Argo- 
naut and Exainiucr. 

There is a certain something about Mr. Morrow — a reserved 
power, an inner self apart — which makes his presence felt as if he 
approached the size of greatness. He is one of the few writers 
whose personality is equal to his name. Worthy of mention. 



224 CALIKORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

also, is the comradeship existing between himself and his wife, 
Mrs. Morrow, who is his chief critic and assistant. Mrs. Morrow 
herself is gifted and able to write a first-class story. 

Below is presented an extract from Mr. Morrow's best story, 
which is entitled " The Ape and the Idiot." 

The ape, escaping from a traveling show, the other from an 
asylum, met accidentally, became friends and journeyed together, 
and the ape was the brighter of the two. In their wanderings 
they came upon a Chinese burying-ground where a Chinese baby 
girl was being interred : 

A small, brown woman, moanino: with grief, had tossed all night on her 
hard bed of matting and her harder pillow of hollowed wood. Even the famil- 
iar ranneous sounds of early morning in the Chinese quarter of 8an Jose, remind- 
ful of that far-distant country which held all of her heart not lying dead under 
C^hristian sod, failed to lighten the burden which sat upon her. She saw the 
morning sun push its way throngh a sea of amber, and the nickel dome of the 
great observatory of IMount Hamilton turned to ebony against the radiant east. 
She heard the Oriental jargon of the early hucksters, who cried their wares in 
the ill-smelling alleys, and, with tears, she added to the number of pearls wliich 
the dew had strewn upon the porch. She was only a small woman from Asia, all 
bent with grief; and what of happiness could there be for her in the broad^ 
yellow sunshine which poured forth the wide windows of heaven, inviting the 
living babes of all present mankind to find life and health in its luxurious 
enfolding? She saw the sun climb the ladder of morning with imperious mag- 
nilicence, and whispering voices from remote Cathay tempered the radiance of the 
day with memories of the past. Could you, had your hearts been breaking and 
your eyes blinded with tears, have seen with proper definition the figures of a 
strange procession, which made its way along the alley nnder the porch? There 
were men with three prisoners — three who so recently had tasted the sweets of 
freedom, and they had been dragged back to servitude. Two of these had been 
hauled from the freedom of life and one from the freedom of death; and all 
three had been found asleep beside the open grave and open cothn of little ^Vang 
Tie. There were wise men abroad, and they said that little AVaug Tai, through 
imperfect skill, had been interred alive, and that Komulus and Moses, by means 
of their impish pranks, had brought her to life after raising her from the grave; 
but wherefore the need of all this talk? Is it not enough that the brigands were 
whipped and sent back into servitude, and that the windows in the soul of a little 
brown woman from Asia were opened to receive the warmth of the yellow sun- 
shine that poured in a Hood from heaven? — Williatn C. Morroiv. 

There is no work in Californiau literature to compare with 
that of Yda Addis. It is individualized and characteristic. Ten 



THK ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 



225 



years ago her stories were discussed as if they had been topics of 
the time. There is no possibility of doing her justice in the few 
lines here afforded. Suffice it to say that wherever her name is 
signed there is an article worth preserving. She has traveled 
over California and Mexico as no other woman has done, and 
with her rare perception and detective instinct, has obtained pos- 
session of scenes, characters and plots such as no other woman 
writer dreams of as existing, Added to this scientific curiosity 
which leads her to study all kinds of human nature and all kinds 
of motives, she is an accomplished linguist as well as scholar, 
Her Ivnglish is more than 
excellent — it is original, 
forceful. I can always tell 
one of her stories before I 
see the signature. It moves 
along with a characteristic 
snap of the whip in it. She 
can deal with the most pe- 
culiar situations, but there 
is never any suggestion nor 
taint of license in her method 
of treatment. While alive 
and pulsing with human 
feeling, yet wrong remains 
wrong and right remains 
right without any glossing over or confounding of the two. 

Mrs. Yda Addis Storke is modest and unassuming in regard 
to her literary work. One may spend a whole ev^ening in con- 
versation with her and never know that she has written a line. 
But then I have found that this is often the case with tlio.se 
whose works speak for them, thus saving them the trouble. 
Mrs. Yda Addis Storke was born in lycaven worth, Kansas, came 
to California when a child, and spent many years of her life in 
Mexico. In the files of the Argo?iaiif, the Californian, later Over- 
land, Harper s Monthly, San Francisco C/nonidc, Examiner, L,os 
Angeles Herald, St. L,ouis Dispatch, Chicago Times, Philadelphia 
Press and McClure Syndicate, as well as Mexican periodicals, 
appear the writings of Yda Addis. 




YDA ADDIS 



'.2b 



CALIFORNIAN WKlTKKS AND IJTKRATURE. 



The most widely copied of her stories in American and 
European publications have beeu those entitled " The Romance 
of Ramon " and " Roger's Luck." The mere list of the titles of 
her stories covers considerable space, including more than a hun- 
dred. 

There seems to be no limit to her mental industry, or to her 
creative industry. Some day, when she has laid her pen down 
wearilj' and gone to sleep, some one will discover these pictures 
and portraitures of Californian life, and gathering them up, will 
present them to the world, which will wonder and then exalt the 
genius who gave them birth. 

Few women writers have so strong a hold upon the public as 
Eiuma Frances Dawson. She is known and unknown. She is 
sought and cannot be found. Her name is spoken and all 
acknowledge her superiority, but the voice drops to a mysterious 

whisper as they inquire : 
" Have you ever seen Miss 
Dawson ? ' ' 

It is with pleasure, there- 
fore, that I present the pict- 
ure of the ' ' fair unknown," 
and assure those interested 
in this writer that it resem- 
bles her. Miss Dawson is 
a remarkable woman, gifted 
with a mind almost mascu- 
line in its grasp of thought. 
Everything she writes is 
deep and strong, and while 
celebrated for her clever 
short stories and prose, yet 
her special gift is for poetry 
of a high order. She is 
best known as the author of a great poem, entitled " Old Glor}'," 
the baptismal name given to the flag by the soldiers in the War 
of the Rebellion. Some ten years ago the Boston Fi/ot announced 
its decision upon a prize contest thus : 

Tho first pvizo of one liumlriHl doUiirs goes to S.sn Francijoo to a lady who 




KMM V KKANCl-S PAWSON. 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 227 

has written a pooin that will st:ind at onoo among the great poems of American 
literature. Her invocation to the American flag is superhly conceived — large, 
tree, majestic. 

John Boyle O'Reilly also adds : 

Emma Frances Dawson of San Francisco has aiUled to our patriotic liter- 
ature a poem that will rank forever with the innnortal "Star-Spangled l>anncr " 
of Francis Scott Key, than which it is, in exalted imagery and power, a far 
grander production. 

One .stanza is lieie quoted from the poem : 

OLD OLOHY. 

(Chant Royal.) 

Knvoi/. 

Messed Flag! sign of our precious Past, 
Triumphant IVesent and our Future vast, 
Beyond starred blue and bars of sunset bright, 
Lead us to realms of Equal Right! 

Float on, in ever lovely allegory, 
Kin to the eagle and the wind and light. 

Our hallowed, eloquent beloved "Old (ilory." 

A weird composition, entitled "Decoration Day," appeared 
in May, 18S1, in the columns of the Argonaut, from Miss Daw- 
son's pen. The rhythm and onomatopeia effects were remark- 
able. It represented the dirge of the musical instruments, the 
bassoon, the tamborine, the horn, the cjnubals, the flute, the 
trombone and the cannon, each separately, with the chorus of 
ghosts in the air above, and the refrain of the men marching 
below on the earth, all in orderly succession, making a grand 
symphony of commemoration. An extract is here made from 

DEC0R.4T1ON IIAY. 

Ghosts. 

" Line upon line, rushing ghosts, we advance — 
Endless, in squadrons, in columns, battalions. 

Infantry! — shadows with shadowy lance; 
Oamlry ! — phantoms of riders and stallions ; 
Flying artillery! — heroes, rapscallions ! 

Vaporous, wind-shaken, nebulous, grand. 

Close by your ranks mows the spectral command." 



JJ8 CAl.lKOKNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Music. 
IrresoUito, 

Now loud, now mute, 
Like twilight winds dispute 
Athwart desorteil hattleliold — thus sobs and grieves the flute. 

Men. 

"What reoolUvtions thrill our souls to-day I 
Too much t"or wonis are love and long regret. 

rhi V are not dead, though lost in bloody fray ; 
^Vhile we remeniWr, they are liviug yet. 
Could they but know that we do not forget I 

Strange ehill is on us in this driving mist. 

(.iroat (.lodi it halt" outlines an army tryst I" 

Under sjully drooping pennon 
l\ises sullen blast ot" cannon. 

Like all .^^ploiulid work ot' a high order, whore there is tmich 
praise but little eottipeiisatioii to be given, Miss Dawson has spmi 
her silk and .sold it tor eottott. the buyer — the editor purveyor to 
the publie — eoinplaiuing meanwhile that he prefers the eotton. 
In sueh a world as this what wonder it Mi.>^>^ Dawson withdraws 
and dwells within a sphere ot" tier own. " Kor her mind to her a 
kingdom is." 

Miss Dawson is also git'ted in musie, and belonged to that 
profession before she entered the tield of literature. Her devotion 
to an invalid mother, who was also a woman of tine mind absorbed 
her for many years : but she was happy in it. and wove her very 
best fabrie tVom her mind under the inlluetiee of this congenial 
companionship. 

Her tame has gone abroad, and all visitors iiUerested in 
literature in San Francisco are sure to inquire tor Miss Dawson. 
Knt while she is the most unatYected and approachable ot women, 
yet she is endowed with those usual concomitants of genius, 
modesty and shyness. And so it is that few of the writers living 
here, though they know her work well, are acquainted with her- 
self. 

lieside the Afk^onauf, her stories may be found in the files 
of the 0:rrAjHif. AV:rs L(ii<r and ir.;.>-r. "" The Dramatic in my 
Destinv." "".V Swoiii Statement." and ".Xn Itinevam House" 



THK ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 



229 



are the titles ot" three of her best known tales, the last ofwhieh, 
and "Shallowed," called forth from Ambrose Bierce in "Prattle" 
the statement that "those readers who did not remember them 
must have minds that are steel to impress and tallow to retain." 

Mr. Hierce has also been moved to write at length regarding 
Miss Dawson's literary ability, from which article the following 
is quoted : 

It is not my oustoin to sot " tiie cover of praise'' upon every liead tliat is 
presented, but of Miss Dawson 1 should like to be nndei-stood as allirming with 
whatever of strength resiiles in tortliriglit sineerity tliat in all the essential attri- 
bntOvS of literary eonipetonoe she is head and slioulders above any writer on this 
coiist with whose works 1 have aoi^uaintanee. And on this judgment I gladly 
hazaixi my small possession and large hope of reputation for literary sagacity. 

Here is a young woman who is a perfect surprise in the extent of her 
reading, by her precocious instinct, the delineation of character, and what is still 
rarer, a balanced reserve of power in tinisliing her sketclies with the fewest 
possible touches. 

Of the women whose delicate tracery has beautitied the pages 
of Califoruiau literature, perhaps none has done finer work as a 
whole, both in poetry and prose, 
than the late Kate M. Bishop. 
ITufortunately for her literary 
fame she wrote under a variety of 
names, making little impression 
under her own personality. Some 
of her poems, under the title of 
" M Quad," have been preserved 
and copied in variotis papers and 
admired and ascribed to the 
wrong person, and she would 
smile and make no effort to set 

it right. Such is the history of ka rn m. liisnor. 

the exquisite poem entitled " In 
a Hammock." 

IN A lIAMMOrlv. 

Carelessly singing, carelessly swinging, 

Now in the sunshine, now in the t-hade — 

What could be fairer, wliat could be rarer 

Than biid-song, day-dream and (lower-bloom together, 

Ail growing out of the sunshiny weatiier, 
Filling tiieir happiness just as they fade. 




2T,0 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Branches liaiijj over luo, groon leatiots cover ine, 
Whispering their secrets of wood hne sweet, 

FUittering and calling, iioating and tailing, 

Setting in viv^ions of cloud-land jialaces 

I'ouring ont wine from tlie sun-land chalices, 
Kissing my face with their shadows fleet. 

I'p in the world of sky, out where the echoes die, 

iSoareth a gray hawk, atilt for prey, 
Circling and sinking, carelessly drinking 
Drafts of the infinite — How it brims over! 
Everywhere waiting for vagabond lover — 

iSinnnier's own children alone know the way. 

Somewhere a grief-note out of a dove-throat 

Troubles the silence like falling tears, 
Soniewhere a memory comes with a cry. 
Calling the past from its shadowy curtain, 
Parting the mists from its visions uncertain. 

Breathing the breath of the vanished years. 

Swifter the swallows liy, longer the shadows lie. 
While 1 swing idly twixt shadow and shine; 

Nothing of siuniner-bliss, surely can bahuu-e this 

Service of bird-note and incense of heather, 

rerfect content and cups of glad weather, 

Nothing 1 care whei\ all these are mine. — Kate M. Bishop. 

Under the name of " Karen Brendt " she wrote some strong, 
sarcastic stories which appeared in the Argonaut. In the Ciili- 
forninu and the later Overland appear keen, bright portraitures 
of men and women as she found them in San Franciscan society. 
The most ambitious of these was a continued story called "A 
Shepherd at Court," representing a ranchman of tine type amid 
these peculiar elements, and drawing the contrasts with vivid 
pen. Kver and anon there appeared choice bits of verse from her 
active brain, and these were recognized at once iu Eastern jour- 
nals, and tinally attracted the attention of Kdmuud Clarence 
Stedman who gave her place among the writers in his encyclo- 
pedia. 

Miss Bishop was born in Illinois, came to California iu 1S56, 
when a small child, and received her education here. She passed 
from earth Aui;ust i6th. iSgi, at Belmont. Her standard was 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOL. 23 1 

very high, so much so that she occupied the position of being a 
merciless critic of herself. Her modesty regarding her position 
^^ a writer forbade her achieving a name, as she hid her person- 
ality continually. She was a brillant conversationalist, her 
ordinary speech sparkling with repartee and originality of expres- 
sion. Her industry was great and she left many manuscripts 
which have not yet seen the light, and possibly never may. It is 
to be hoped, however, that some time her writings, stories and 
poems will be published in book form, as they are well worthy of 
preservation, and would be a distinct addition to our literature. 

One of the most faithful of the women-writers of the Argonani 
is Mrs. Flora Haines lA^ughead, In addition to her journalistic 
work for the C/iro>iic/t\ Exa»ii>icr and other daily papers, she has 
spun silken fabrics in the shape of short stories, that have made 
a profouml impression upon the minds of the public. She has 
always been true to the interests of her womanly nature, uniting 
this quality with a great degree of literary art. While the moral 
purpose is is always kept cleverly in the background, yet it pre- 
vails unconsciously, in producing a sort of a stained-glass 
radiance of optimism. She deals in a kind of heroism that must 
do the right though the heavens fall. The account of her experi- 
ence, as one of the first women-reporters in San Francisco, 
appears in the classification "Journalism." It is one of the 
truest, most womanly recitals of such an experience that has ever 
appeared in print. Indeed, I doubt if anything so honest and so 
uneffected, so touching and so beautiful, in the way of a tribute 
to the true manhood of the daily press, was ever written by 
any woman before. There are "no icicle-dripping of the in- 
tellect" here introduced to mar the simplicity and heart-touching 
quality of the recital. 

Her stories varN' from simple character-studies to romances. 
Her heroines are never trivial, and her heroes are very human. 
A strain of humor permeates some of her tales, notably that of 
"The Fortunes of War," which is honored b)^ a place in the 
"Library of American lyiterature." In her " Gold Dust Series " 
of stories which was published in book form, appeared the follow- 
ing : "Chinatown Contrabands," "Her Political Campaign," 
"Her First Year in Ofiice," "Nathan Rathburn's Grave," 



232 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

"Santo's Brother." "Baby Bunting," "How Miss Vanderbilt 
Came Into Her Own," "The Story of the Pazzoulana House," 
" How the Serpent I^ost His Case," "The Silver Cornet " and 
" The Man From Nowhere." 

The "Libraries of California" was a conscientious work by MrS' 
IvOUghead in 1879, one which becomes more valuable each year, 
as a reference book of the past. "The Man who was Guilty" 
was published in the East and contains some interesting picture 
studies of San Francisco and California localities, Mrs. L,oughead 
was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, of New England stock. 
While she is remarabl)^ industrious in her literary productiveness, 
3^et she is one of the most domestic of women, devoted to her 
home-making and little ones. Mrs. Longhead now lives in 
Santa Barbara. 

Regarding Mrs. Longhead, Mrs. Atherton says : 

She has been known for a number of years as an all-round newspaper 
woman of the first rank, and has managed to publish at the same time about one 
hundred and fifty stories. 

Annie Lake Townsend made a great impression with her 
stories in the Argonaut. Not only were the plots striking and 
original, but her sentences were felicitous and apt. I remember 
a description of a heroine who was given to indulging in a law- 
less disregard of consequences. It finished up something like 
this : "I knew she had a spoonful of gipsy blood in her veins. ' ' 
The criticism made of Mrs. Townsend' s writing is, that while it 
is epigrammatic and brilliant, that there is a metallic glitter about 
it all ; that it is lacking in that impression of tenderness which 
one expects to find in a woman's writing ; that it is hard, finished, 
elegant work. That, however, I think is merely the influence of 
the Argo7iaut school. Ten years ago that was the prevailing 
characteristic of the stories then presented, and these influences 
became infectious. The best work done by Mrs. Townsend was 
the department she carried on in the Wasp, which she signed 
" Jael Dence," and is referred to under that journal. 

The poetry from Mrs. Townsend 's pen is clear-cut and beau- 
tiful. Not simple and sweet is the tune of her muse, but complex 
and strange, revealing a deep undercurrent of thought and phil- 
osophy. 



THE ARGONAUT SCHOOIv. 233 

All these evidences of her literarj^ instinct and ability were 
produced when she was in the first flush of youth, and no one 
can explain the mystery why her talents should no longer be 
mated to industry. Her novel " On the Verge " was of singular 
power, especially for a girl of only twenty years of age. When 
her later novel appears it will contain worldly wisdom and 
felicitous epigram and strange workings of the human heart. It 
will be original, and cut down deep through the veneer of society. 

A collection of books by Californian writers is now in 
progress, being made by a society of San Franciscan women 
formed for that purpose. They have adopted as their trademark 
the picture of the "Indian Girl" which Fred M. Somers had 
designed for the cover of the Christmas Argonaut, and which 
now appears as the frontispiece to this volume. 

When asked some years ago what the meaning was of the 
walrus-and-the-bear-heading to the Argonaut, Mr. Pixley replied : 

It represents a quandary. As long as the bear remains upon the walrus 
he won't drown. But meanwhile he is starving to death. If he eats the walrus 
he can satisfy his hunger, but he will be drowned. Question : — Which death 
does he prefer ? 




®[ie (EaUfornimt. 

A WESTKRN MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



THH CfllilFORNlf^N SCHOOli. 

1880— 1882. 
HDITOI^S: 

Fred M. Somers, Charles G. Phelps, MilUcent Washburn Shinn. 

COriTI^IBUTOl^S : 

Joaquin Miller, Edward R. Sill, John Vance Cheney, William C. Morrow, 
J. W. Gaily, Richard E. White, E. H. Clough, D. S. Richardson, Charles Edwin 
Markham, Daniel O'Connell, Ambrose Bierce, B. B. Reddmg, T. H. Hillell, 
T. H. Rearden, W. M. Bunker, Robert Duncan Milne, Warren Cheney, Sam Davis, 
Clarence Urmy, John Muir, Josiah Royce, John S. Hittell, Leonard Kip, J. H. 
Gilmour, Alexander Del Mar, Charles H. Shinn, Joseph Le Conte, Ben. Truma 
Lock Melone, Charles G, Yale, George Davidson, James Ben-y Bensel, Hathan 
Kouns and others. 

Ina D. Coolbrith, Mary Glasscock, Minnie B. linger. Mrs. Joseph Austin, 
Eddie Atiderson, Julia H. S. Bugeia, Josephine Clifford, Louise H. Webb, Kate M. 
Bishop, Margaret Collier Graham, Kate Heath, Agnes M. Manning, Evelyn M. 
Ludlum, May N. Hawley, Philip Shirlaj (Annie Lake), Mary B. Field, Isabel 
Saxon, Sallic R. Heath, Helen Wilmans, Alice E. Pratt, Katharine Lee Bates, Yda 
Addis, MilUcent W. Shimi, Sarah Winnemucca, Kate Douglass Smith ( Wiggin). 

Though brief the life of the Calif ornian Magazine, yet the. 
six vohimes of which it consists, contain mauj' pages of most in- 
teresting reading. The ordinar)' lives of the people of this 
stage of California development are here portrayed — snatches and 
pictures and choice bits from real happenings of real people, make 
up the bulk of the contents. 

The style of certain writers has become so crj'Stallized, that 
by the reading of a few paragraphs, one may, with confidence, pro- 
nounce the name of the author. As an instance may be men- 



THE CAUFORNIAN vSCHOOI.. 



235 



tioned the essays of Josiah Royce, and the stories of Evelyn 
lyndlum, Yda Addis and William C. Morrow. 

The editorial announcement in the first number was as 

follows: 

The Californian will be thoroughly Western in character, local to this 
coast in its flavor, representative and vigorous in its style and method of dealing 
with questions, and edited for popular rather than for a severely literary con- 
stituency. 

The department of " Outcroppings " contained the only 
humorist of the Californian school, and his name was Lock 
Melone. In ' ' Dips and Spurs ' ' he wrote some very comical 
experiences. One of these was entitled " A Cataract of Sheep," 
which tells of the way he took care of a flock of sheep in the 
mountains of the Sierra, and how they took a notion to spring 
over a precipice one by one. His style is brusque and laconic, 
and his points well taken. While on a book-canvassing tour, 
which was attended with rather depressing circum.stances, he 
stands and gazes at the great stretch of tule land and meditates. 
Thought I to myself, if I had a dollar for every tule in sight, how I could 
take the world by the tail and yank it from one end of space to the other. 

This magazine may well be called " Somers' Californian,'" 
in order to distinguish it [from Webb's, which preceded it by 
about fifteen years, and from 
Holder's, which has followed 
it about ten years later. Fred- 
erick M. Somers was a strong 
literary influence in California 
and has been the same in New 
York. His sketch has been 
classified under the Argona^U 
school of writers. Upon his 
withdrawal from the magazine 
and its sale to the publisher, 
Antone Roman, the same who 
started the Overland, Charles 
Henry Phelps followed Somers 
as editor. Mr. Phelps is a native of California, born in Stockton, 
January i, 1853. He lived in Sonoma county as a boy, after- 





CHARLES HKNRY PHELPS. 



236 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND IJTKRATURE. 

ward in San Francisco ; he attended the public schools, with 
two years at the University of California. Later he took course 
and degree at Harvard Law School (1872-1S74) and practiced 
law in San Francisco (1874-1S80). He became editor of the 
Califortiian at this time, and continued in charge of it two years, 
going to New York in 1S8:;, where he has since practiced law, 
and written but little. 

Many of his poems have been published in Harper s. Cen- 
tury, Atlantic and LippincotV s. He has a charming touch and 
genuine poetic instinct, as is shown by the exquisite verses 
scattered through the Cali/ornian., and which were afterward 
collected and published in book form. \'ery expressive in local 
color is the following poem, quoted from the files of the Cali- 
fornia n : 

YIMA. 

\Voarv, weary, desolate, 
8and-swept, parclied and eursed of fate ; 
lUirning but how passionless I 
Barren, bald and pitiless I 

Through all ages, baleful moons 
Have glared upon thy whited dunes ; 

And malignant, wratht'ul suns 
Fiercely drunk thy streamless runs. 

So that Nature's only tune 
Is the blare of the simoon ; 
Piercing burnt, unweeping skies 
With its awful melodies. 

Not a tlower lifts its head 
Where the emigrant lies dead. 

Not a living creature calls 
Where the Gila monster crawls; 
Hot and hideous as the sun 
To the dead man's skeleton ; 

But the desert and the dead, 

And the hot head overhead, 

And the blazing, seething air 

And the dread mirage are there. — Charles Heniy Phelps. 

In these pages is to be found a serial story by Joaquin 
Miller, entitled "One of the World's Builders." This story. 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOL. 237 

with scarcely aii}^ changes, has since been dramatized and put 
upon the boards with the name of " Forty-Nine " — the drama of 
Western life which was so pathetically played by Mr. and Mrs. 
McKee Rankin in their palmy days. 

Honor to poor old "Forty-Nine," 

And honor to "Carats," too ; 
Here's a tear for the good old days, 

And a sigh for the hearts so true. — E, S. C. 

Mary H. Field is a woman of more than usual gifts in writ- 
ing. Her prose articles are all based upon a thorough under- 
•standing of the subject in hand, and the bent of her nature is 
always to radiate goodness and 
light. Her poems, especially, 
reveal an insight and a delicacy 
of touch which belong to the 
artist only. Mrs. Field's ener- 
gies have been devoted for many 
years to the interests of the Chau- 
tauqua Circle at Pacific Grove, 
Monterey, and in that pleasant 
coterie and atmosphere she has 
shone noi with reflected light. 
Her home is now in the East. 

-r-. • 1 ,-, /- , ^ , /- MARY H. FIKLU. 

But in the files of the Califor- 

nian, as well as the later Overlatid, her work still lives, finished 
and beautiful, and worthy of preservation in book form. An 
extract is here given from her poem, entitled 

MOTHERHOOD. 

Far, far away, across a troubled sea 

My niistful eyes espy, 
The quiver of a little snowy sail 

Unfurled against the sky. 

So faint, so far, so veiled in softest haze 

Its quiet shimmering, 
Sometimes methinks no mortal thing it is„ 

But gleam of angel's wing. 

Witli my own heart throbs, tlirobs tlie tiny sail, 

My sighs its pennons move ; 
And hither steadfast points its magnet toward 

The pole-star of my love. 




^s 



CALIFOKXIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



What precious gifts do freight this mystic bark? 

Tlieiv is 110 sign to show. 
Wliat t'rail, small mariner is there enshrined? 

No mortal vet may know. 

I only know the soul divine moves there. 

'Mid two eternities; 
Before this secret of the Ix>rd. I bow 

Willi veiled and reverent eyes. 

And vainly does my restles* love essiy 

To haste the coming sail ; 
IVar liod I not e'en to save from sunken reefs 

Can love of mine avail. 

Yet. will I keep vigil and in peace. 

Like many "dwell apart. " 
Close to the mysteries of God art thou 

My brotxling mother-heart. 

Ah, heavenly sweet will be thy recompense 

When, every fear at rest, 
>[y little Kirk, all tranquilly, shall lie 

Safe anchoreil on tliy bre:\st. — Mary H. Fi^d. 

Daniel S. Richardson contributed both prose and verse of a 
high order to the Cijlir'oniiaft. He is endowed with a keen 

sensitiveness to the spiritual 
teachings of nature, and an 
equalh- keen sensitiveness to the 
workings of human nature. His 
mind and heart are sound to the 
core — no gemis of pessimism nor 
cynicism find lodgment there. 
Like William H. Mills, he is the 
source from which springs much 
literar>- encouragement of the 
younger writers, both men and 
women — his patience never 
wearies in well doing. Mr. Rich- 
ardson's mind is logical and far- 
reaching. He has the power of winnowing the truth out of the 
chaff ; of not being charmed by an attractive theon.-. nor yet con- 
demning it absolutelv. He is not lacking, however, in that felici- 




PANIEL S. RICH.XKnSOX. 



THE CAUFORNIAN SCHOOI,. 239 

tous quality of enthusiasm which goes hand in hand with progress 
and light. On the contrary, he has almost a boyish impulsiveness 
in taking hold of enterprises. One of these was in martialing his 
personal friends from the counting-room, the Postoffice, the 
schoolroom and similar places, on a legal holiday, Washington's 
Birthday, of this year, and having them, with their own hands, 
unused and unaccustomed to labor as they were, build a house 
for a poor young Englishman whom he wished to befriend. At 
the end of the day the house was built, the family moved in and 
the bruised and lame self-appointed workmen hobbled home. 

I tell this incident simply to convey an idea of the good- 
heartedness of the man, for nothing that he has written has ever 
yet spoken of his genuine self. His everyday discourses are far 
more beautiful than anything he has yet put to paper, especially 
one on the theme " The Pathos of Living." 

I know that he has not yet written the thought that is in 
his heart, and hoped to obtain it in time for this volume, that he 
might be properl)^ recorded in the book of fate, as I sometimes 
fear this is going to be. So I wrote to him frequently on the sub- 
ject. The following is the last response he made, since which 
time I have said nothing. But the response is more typical of 
him than anything I can find elsewhere. 

I received a letter from you. Such a letter It said, "Write me a poem 
— something with overlapping lines — something pregnant with human hope, 
despair and burning with tlie subtle flame of California's purple hills and golden 
sunset. Of the moon, the stars in sun-down seas, the ineftkble, the unattainable, 
the bosom of old Mother Earth, the pity and the sorrow of it all." That was the 
task you gave me. Its execution was to be instanter. Presto! a poem! That 
calm assurance of yours that I could do it has struck me silent until now, and I 
have not yet recovered. 

His verses are mostly dainty and delicate in texture, as is 
shown in the following, which first appeared in the Cahforniayi. 
It is entitled 

QUESTIO^f. 

'Twas here, sweet love, beside the stream 

AVhere tangled blossoms quiver. 
And dainty-fingered fern-leaves gleam 

Above the restless river ; 



240 CAHFoRNIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Where reviwooil shadow> tall to meet 

Tlie golden sun-tide flowing, 
And all tlie air is still and sweet 

"With wildwoixl ixiors blowing ; 
'Twas here I heard thee whisper low 
Thy sweet confession — trembling so. 

And vet. sweet love, if we had met 

Upon some arid plain. 
Where birvls sing not. nor water? t"ret, 

Nor cooling shadows i-eign : 
If on some desert, lone and rude, 

I to thy feet had come. 
And nature smileii not while I wooed, 

And all the skies were dumb: 
Speak, little heart, my doubt dispel ; 
Would" St thou have loved me there :is well? 

— T>. S. liichardsoti. 

The following is quoted from Libran> and Studio : 

^[r. Kiohanlson has probably enjoyeti more opportunities than any other 
Californian writer for his especial kind of work. Animateil bv a generous love 
of nature and a desire to get away from the city slopes into the midst of nature's 
mighty heart, he one day s:iddleil his horse, shouldered his ritle. and started otl" 
on what provetl to he a nn^^st eventtul journey from the Sierras to the famous 
Floating Isles, His experiences are well worthy a gooil sired volume. 

Upon arriving in Mexico he became correspondent for several Pacitic Coast 
and Eastern papers, and his letters published at that time create^! much f:\vor- 
able ivmment. He undoubtedly wields a trenohent pen ; he has an eye not 
only for the beautiful and true, but for the humorous and sketchy sides of life as 
well. He was the last newsp:iper writer to interview that great and I'amous old 
Mexican, iJeuerul S.anta Ana. His interview was cvpied in hundre(.ls of papers, 
and it was reganleil as a notable utterance of the great Mexican General. Mr. 
Kicharvison also was one of ten white men — the only ten — to ascend the dirzy 
heights of Mount Oriraba, the highest peak on the American continent, over 
19,000 feet above the sea level, shrouded in everlasting snow and coronals of 
clouds that round its mighty crest. He sul^sev^uently wjis appointed Secretary of 
the Mexican Consular I.eg-ation and in this capacity tor a considerable period 
enjoyed opportunities lor studying the peculiar phases of high life in the great 
Mexican capital. With the instinct of a literateur he took advantage of his 
opportunities, and his forthtvuiing volume will no doubt perpetuate delightful 
as well as interesting and exciting reivl lections of his experiences. 

Among the old and nobler school of Californian writers, Kicharxlson is 
regarvleii as being one of the staunchest and best exponents of Saxon English. 
He has an eye for character and color, and is always at home in the broad 
amphitheaters of Nature. His forthcoming volume will mark his re-entry into 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOL. 24 1 

tlie field of litenituie after a rest of several years. The book will oonsist of a 
collection of liis famous Californian and Mexican sketches, and many of his 
poems — for he and the muse are old friends — will be interspersed. 

We print an extract from one of the sketches that will be included in the 
volume which excited the admiration of Edward Rowland Sill, a warm Iriend 
of the author. 

lie is in Mendocino County enjoyiu'? a desultory trip to the land of 
nowhere for all he cares. While in dire straits he sees a lierd of sheep and 
comes upon the shepherd. 

We quote : 

The day which followed was exceedingly hot, and the ui)hill tramp 
through the fine red dust became in a few hours very laborious. However slowly 
I might proceed, hugging the shade spots on the winding grade, it was imposs- 
ible to keep cool, and my gripsack, like the grasshopper, became a burden. Life 
seemed too short and precious for such nonsense on a summer day, so, toward 
noon, I switched ofl" under a manzanita bush and went to sleep. It must have 
been mid-afternoon when I awoke, with a mighty vacancy in my stomach and a 
colony of tree-ants in my vest. Far up the mountain, to my left, a band of 
sheep were grazing, and it occurred to me, after getting rid of tlio ants, (hat there 
must be a herder's camp somewhere in the vicinity, and perhaps I coukl " work " 
that individual for a square meal. Former experiences had led me to the con- 
viction that the average sheep-herder is a pretty good fellow, inclined to be 
hospitable and glad to see you. It makes no difference whether he be a Dago, 
Kanaka or Greek, when you meet him on his lonely stamping-grounds. He is 
human and homely — in keeping with his surrounding — and the smile of wel- 
come which percolates his oily visnge is apt to be sincere. Having in my mind's 
eye the typical representative of tliis fraternity, imagine my consternation on 
finding myself confronted by a rosy damsel of sixteen, barefooted, straw-hatted, 
and sweet-voiced as a meadow lark. She had seen me first, and stood watching me 
from a little rocky ledge as I labored up the mountain side. For a moment I 
was dumb witli astonishment. Could this be the sheep-herder I sought? I had 
read somewhere of shepherdesses tending their flocks on Arcadian hills, and 
ensnaring the hearts of all things masculine; but that was in tlie Golden Age. 
Wliat was this Grecian maiden doing in Lake county, and where was her crook ? 
Probably imagining from my startled attitude and voiceless stare that I was 
about to shy ofl" into the brush, or that! could not talk yet, she said: 

" Do not be frightened. Come up." 

" Do you herd these sheep ? " I stammered. 

" Yes, sir." 

" Are you not afraid to be out here in the woods alone?" 

" Not a bit." 

" Are you not afraid of me?" 

" No ; but I thought vou was of me," and she laughed merrily, somewhat 
to my discomfiture. 



242 CAIvIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

"If I am not capable of inspiring fear,'" 1 thought, "would that I might 
excite some gentler emotion." But I shall not tell you all the nice things 1 
thought and said during the next two hours. It is sufficient for you to know that 
I came up to her side; that I told her I was hungry ; that I was a vagabond on 
the face of the earth, going to teach a school in Coyote; and that if the Lord 
would forgive me for attempting to walk up the red-hot mountain under a July 
sun I would never be guilty of like otlense again. And then she told me that 
^he had a bottle of milk and some lunch at a spring a little farther up the 
canvon. and that I should share it with her if I would. And what a lunch we 
had ! Corn bread, a little bacon, some wild blackberry jam and milk. Perched 
on the bank above the spring, my new-found wood nymph laughed and chat- 
tered, and made me eat the most of it. She was net hungry, she said ; she had 
just relieved her brother on the mountain, and had eaten before leaving home. 

" Then why did you bring the lunch ?" I asked. 

"Oh, we sometimes feel hungry toward evening," she replied. 

"You knew I was coming, didn't you?" 

"No; but I'm sorry you are going." 

And so was I. In fact, I was half tempted to turn sheep-herder then and 
there, and let the Coyote school go by the board; but I could not ligure far 
enough ahead. That vexatious brother to whom she alluded might give me 
trouble. She also had the misfortune to have parents who might question my 
continuous presence on the mountain. It would not do. 

'■ I will come back to see you," 1 said. And I mean to do it one of these 
days. 

Diving into the bottom of my sack, I brought cut a pair of doctor's 
forceps, left there by accident, and begged of her to accept them as a token of 
my gratitude. It was all 1 had to give, unless she would accept some portion 
of my wearing apparel, for which latter I presume she had no use. Further- 
more, she might consider these forceps as a symbol of the grip she had on my 
young aflections. I had never known them to let go. Stealing: a h-.st look into 
.l»er merry eyes — a little saddened, I thought, when the parting came — I 
shouldere*^! my bagg-age and trudged away. — D. S. Richardson. 

Joseph Le Coiite is the great teacher of science in California. 
In his position at the University of the State he nionlds the mind 
of young California, and in these journals and magazines leaves 
the impress of his philosophy for those who are out of the reach 
of his personal influence. 

The names and titles of his volimies are as follows : " Sight," 
"Elements of Geology," "Miscellaneous Writings," "Science 
and Religion," "Evolution and Immortality." Of the volume 
on science and religion, the Ovtrlaud says, in review : 

This thesis, that evolution is not only not antagonistic to the fundamentals 
of religious belief, but a strong argument in their support, is advanced and 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOL. 



243 



advocated in the third part of the book, with a force and eloquence that confirms 
Professor Le Conte in his place of honor among the teachers of evolution and the 
defenders of theism. Let more be said, for it is doing a good deed to encourage 
the spread of doctrine so sane as this book teaches. It is hardly possible that 
any scientific materialist can read the last eighty-two pages of this book care- 
fully and not realize (hat his giving up of religious belief is not the foregone 
necessity that he sadly imagined M'hen he was forced by cumulative evidence to 
acknowledge that evolution is true. On the other hand, to many troubled souls 
in the Christian Ciiurch, who 
have watched with fear the steady 
growth of this suspicious theory, 
-which was assumed to show 
that nature created itself by blind 
law and needed no God — this 
book will come like a revelation. 
Let all such })erplexed ones read 
and take heart, finding that there 
is a standpoint of calm and clear 
reason from which this strange 
<loctrine may be made welcome, 
no subversive and terrible over- 
throw of cherished hopes, but a 
breaking away of barriers that 
shall enlarge their view and make 
grand their conceptions, as much 
as did Galileo's telescope when it 
showed that this earth was not 
the center of a little group of 
stars, but only one of myriads of 
worlds in the universe of God. JOSEPH LE CONTE 

A pupil of Professor I^e Conte' s, David I^esser Lezinsky, 
contributes the following : 

What religion has brought to man a more hopeful message than that 
which evolution gives us through Joseph Le Conte? 

Tennyson was the poet of evolution when of the modern man he sang 
" * * * Heir of all the ages, in the foremost files of time." So Le 
Conte speaks for evolution when he teaches : " The Golden Age is before and not 
behind us." 

In selecting the two most ecstatic moments in the growth of science, Le 
Conte sees as one moment that in which Galileo, looking through his telescope, 
realized to man that our earth is not the imiverse, but only one amid the count- 
less myriads whose song of the spheres choruses its anthem of praise to the 
Creator; and then, as the second moment, Le Conte points to BufTon arising from 
his geological researches to announce to man that his epoch is not eternity, but 




'44 



CALIFOKXIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



only a second in Orod's dav, to which there is neither beginning nor end. Truly, 
Ualileo and Buftbn make us t>ow our heads in silence Ivlore the might of the First 
Great Cause, 

When science selects the thirvl great moment of its growth, it will, per- 
haps, pass Darwin and Huxley, Wallace and Spen.vr, to relate as its supremest 
moment that in which Joseph Le Conte, as reivnoiler of religion and s<^-ieuce. 
foUoweil the guiding hand of evolution and pointing onwanl to all the moments- 
to come, siiid : 

*■ O glorious present moment I As thou art last, so art thou tirst. All 
other moments but prepare*.! thy coming. Thou art the greatest moment ot' 
creation." 

While other scientists make us know the greatness of the Eternal, Le Conte 
would have ns feel His gooilness — His gO(.xlness to us, who have l>een blessed 
in l>ecoming participants in that moment which is "Heir of all the ages, in the 
foremost tiles of time." — /Xicuf i^sscr LfsiHdry. 

A quotation is here given from an article by Professor Le 
Conte in the Califomian, entitled "The Higher Utilities of 
Science" : 

Truth is its own exeecv^ling great, unspeakable rewanl. There are three, 
and only three, that bear witness here on earth of thing? heavenly and divine. 
There are three, and only three, human pursuits that, passing beyond the veil of 
time and sense, take hold of things spiritual and eternal. These are science, line 
art and religion. These three sirive ever together, each in its several way, to> 
perfect that image in the human spirit. Science strives ever to perfect that 
image in the human )vaA>n as truth ; art strives ever to j>erfect the same image in 
the human imagination as ideal beauty : religion strives ever to perfect the same 
image in the human will and the human heart — in human life and human conduct 
— as duty and love. These thr^v seem otlen to us widely separate, and even,. 

alas! in deadly contlioi, but only because 
we view them on so low a plane. As we 
trace them upward they converge more 
and more, until they meet and become 
one. They are, indeevl, but the earthly^ 
finite symlK>l of a trinity which is infinite- 
and eternal. — JVo/V?5!i>r Lf Conte, 

Richard Edward White, a na- 
tive Califomian and a contributor 
to the Califcrnian, has also pub- 
lished a volume of verse entitled 
'The Cross of Monterey." He 
has also a gift in writing words 
RicH.\RD KPWARP wHiTK. foj- sougs. liaviug a correct ear 
and an instinct of simple meters and musical expressions. " The 




THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOL. 245 

Man in the Moon " is a happy conceit of his, containing a touch 
of hnmor. The best known, however, of his compositions is that 
entitled ^^^ midnight mass. 

(,i« Extract.) 
Of the nussion church San Carlos, 

PniiUleil by Carmelo's Bay. 
There remains an ivied ruin 

That is crnnvbling fast away. 
In its tower the owl tinels shelter, 

In its sanctuary grow 
Rankest weeds above the earth-mounds, 

And the dead find rest below. 
^, * * * * 

Still, by peasants at Carmelo, 

Tales are told and songs are sung 
Of Junipero, the Padre, 

In the sweet Castilian tongue: 
Telling how each year he rises 

From his grave the mass to say, 
In the midnight, 'mid the ruins. 

On the eve of Carlos' day. 
***** 
AVlth their gaudy painted banners, 

And their tlamheaux burning bright. 
In a long procession come they 

Through the darkness and the night; 
Singing hymns and swinging censers. 

Dead fJlks' ghosts— they onward pass 
To the ivy-covered ruins. 

To be present at the mass. 
And the grandsire, and the grandame, 

And their children march along, 
And they know not one another 

In that weird, unearthly throng. 
And the youth and gentle maiden, 
They who loved in days of yore, 
"Walk together now as strangers, 
For the dead love nevermore. 
***** 
"I/f, missa f^■^" is spoken 

At the dawning of the day, 
And the pageant strangely passes 
From the ruins sere and gray; 



24^ 



CAl.n-OKNlAX WRITERS AND l.ITRKATrRK. 



And .hiniporo. Padre, 

Lviiig down, resumes liis sleep, 
And tlio tar-weevls, rank and noisome, 

O'er his grave luxmiant creep. 

And the lights upon the altar 

And the toivhes eoase to burn. 
And the vestments and tho bannoi-s 

Into dust and ashes turn; 
And the ghostly ivngrog^tion 

Cross themselves, and, one l\v one. 
Into thin air swiftly vanish, 

And the midnight muss is done. — Kichard E. }yhitf. 

Mary Willis Glasscock is a graceful writer of stories with a 
strong local coloring. Her contributions have apj->eared in the 

Ovrr/afi(/XTo/d(fi Era, Cali- 
tornian and Arxonauf, and 
also in the volume entitled 
"Short Stories by Califor- 
niau Writers." Her novel 
of " Dare" was among the 
tirst crop that appeared 
written by native daugh- 
ters, the other two being 
by Annie Lake Townsend 
and HUa Sterling Cummins. 
Mrs. Glasscock was bom 
in Nevada City. Califoniia, 
and is a resident of Oak- 
land. She is a lovely 
woman in every sense of the word, whose literary instincts have 
Iven subdue*.! for the purpose of devoting her entire energies to 
the home circle and domestic kingdom. " Carmelita " is one of 
hor best stories and a picture of Calitoniian life. 

Many of the best stories in the C^ili/ornian are from the pen 
of Warren Cheney, who shows great originality and literary skill. 
It is a part of unwritten history that, later in the files of the 
Oirtliiud, ^[r. Cheney had a sketch on Bret Harte which made 
hitu no end of trouble. Some one with a grudge against 
:iu in the ICast wrote an article in a New York paj^er 




MVKV W ll.l.lS 



THE CAI.IFORNIAN SCHOOL. 247 

charging him with plagiarism, in repeating in his sketch what 
had been already said in their precedent sketches by lulmnnd 
Stedman and Richard Henry Stoddard, regarding Bret llarte. In 
order to do Harte justice, he had taken the trouble to read every- 
thing that had been written by everyone and anyone upon the 
subject. The result was that he could not deny having seen 
these sketches — and the trouble grew and grew until Cheney 
withdrew from the Oi'cy/a>id and from literature altogether. He 
married and went to Ivurope, and the name of Warren Cheney 
has disappeared from the later files. But that is no proof of any- 
thing. 

The man who could write these stories did not need to copy 
things. He could write what he wanted, himself. I know that 
Harr Wagner wrote a defense of Cheney in the Golden Era at the 
time, based upon an ingenious experiment. He went into a 
library and took down certain books upon certain similar sub- 
jects, and found a number of simil ir paragraphs. And that .sort 
of thing is always happening. However, as a result of this mis- 
fortune to Cheney, there has come a great horror over the literary 
community in regard to these "curious coincidences." And 
what is more, a liberal supply of quotation marks is indulged in 
upon all occasions. 

But I wish to add that there are super-excellent stories from 
time to time, which appear always under another new name, 
seldom twnce the same, but they are all from one pen, and that 
pen Warren Cheney's. They are of admirable fibre, strong and 
meaty. No one has better art than the writer of these short 
tales, and it is about time that the grudge expired and Warren 
Cheney came back to life again. 

Theodore H. Hitlcll is a native of Pennsylvania who came to 
California in early times. He was connected with newspapers 
until he entered upon the practice of the law. His earlier works 
were entitled " Adventures of James Capen Adams " and " Hit- 
tell' s General Laws of California." His most ambitious work 
has been a " History of California, in two volumes, which has 
taken many j-ears of his life to complete. Mr. Hittell has also 
written a monograph on "Goethe's Faust," and made transla- 
tions from the German poets. But his bent of mind is not so 



243 



CAl.lKOKMAN WRITERS AXP LITERATURE. 



/ 



well adapted to the grace and beauty ot" iHx?tiy, as he is lacking 
iti enthusiasm, and looks u^xm everything iVoni a dry and prac- 
tical jK>int ot" view. His 
"History ot" California" is 
well spoken of, and cv^nsidereii 
to Ih? an authority on certain 
(-luestious. Of his literary 
<tyle I cannot speak, nor pre- 
sent any extracts, as Mr. Hit- 
;ell has l^eeii unable to pro- 
vide me with them. 

John S. Hittell, the brother 
of T. H. Hittell, is also con- 
uectevl with literar>- matters, 
and was a coutributor to the 
CaliforHtaH, His volumes on 
the "" History of Culture." 
" " The Resources of California" " 
and similar subjects are now 
out of print and unobtainable. 









VaKvH^OKK H, HITTKI,!.. 

Alexander Del Mar is a 
fitting- subject for a sketch 
— a man of great impul- 
siveness and great capacit\ 
for work. In his.home life, 
with a gay turban upon his 
head, singing a drinking 
song trom some opera in a 
resonant, dramatic voice, 
he is the picture of ai\ 
v^peratic hero. In his\\Tit- 
ing^ he is always tull ot 
life and vigor, endowing 
ever\' subject trom his i^r. 
with a dowry of splendio. 
imagx>s. no matter how 
technical the theme. In 
addition to this, his mind 




THIC CAI.IKORNIAN SCHOOT.. 249 

travels by scientific roads in search oi trnth, and often he makes 
his own road over a way which has never been traveleil before. 

Mr. Del Mar was born in the city of New York, Angust 9, 
1836. His father, Jacqnes Del Mar, was a native of Spain aud 
the heir ot large estates, inelnding a nmnber of silver mines, 
and thns it came that the son, Alexander, was edncated in the 
rigoroiis and experieneeil school of Spanish mining. Alter many 
remarkable experiences in coiuiection with governmental ques- 
tions of tinance, Mr. Del Mar was appointetl Mining Commissioner, 
and in this character he proceeded to Nevada in the tall of 1S76, 
to examine and report npon the probable fntnre prodnction of 
silver in the United States, particularly in Nevada. 

This event led to his permanent removal to Calitornia as a 
place of residence, and to the more active practice oi his profession 
iis a mitiing engineer. This otlicial examination and report upon 
the silver mines of Nevada forms so important an era in the 
history of the remoneti/ation of silver that it should, itself, fitly 
form a separate chapter of this volume. But that being impos- 
sible, in the limits of the space here afforded, I can onl> add that 
Mr. Del Mar's report changed the status of alTairs. 

By the following year ^^iSjS), the explorations in the mine 
made it plain that Mr. Del Mar's report was singularly and 
prophetically correct. Then came a revulsion of feeling in his 
favor which placed him at the head of the mining profession on 
the Pacific Coast. 

Requests to examine and report on mines poured in from 
every direction — from California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New 
Mexico, Old Mexico, Great Britain, France, Spain aud Gennany. 
It was only necessary for hin\ to report favorably upon a mine in 
order to enhance its value or promote its development or sale ; it 
was sufficient to cause its abandonment if he condemned it. In 
the midst of the great temptation which such a position involved, 
he maintained that truthfulness of speech and rectitude of action 
which has distinguished him in all the walks of life. 

In the pursuance of his profession Mr. Del Mar has examined 
all the mining districts of California, Nevada, Arizona, New 
Mexico and many of those iu Utah, Colorado, Sonora and the 
northern States of Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Spain, etc., and 



250 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

become thoroughly familiar with their geology and mining 
resources. 

He has published many scientific works, of which his " His- 
tOTj of Precious Metals" is his the chief installment. "The 
Principles of Money ' ' and ' ' In Search of Gold and Silver ' ' are 
also of value. In his correspondence from London to the San 
Francisco Chronicle, early in the eighties, he said many clever 
things. His descriptions were vivid — and I remember so well 
the picture he drew of Mrs. Langtry, then in the zenith of her 
beauty. He described her as being " half-angel, half-devil," 
when the rest of the world saw only the angelic side of her beaut}-. 
Mr. Del Mar now dwells in London, and is as busily engaged as 
ever in preparing scientific articles and volumes on the themes 
relating to mining and finance in all its thousand-and-one rami- 
fications. 

Some of the articles by Professor George Davidson in this 
magazine were of splendid value, notably that on the subject of 
"Comets." Professor Davidson is celebrated for his scientific 
studies in connection with California typography, and also that 
of Alaska. One of the great glaciers of that land bears his name. 

Charles Edwin Markham has an established and growing 
reputation as a writer of true poetry. Mr. Markham was born in 
Oregon in 1852, but since the age of five he has been a Califor- 
nian. When a 3'outh he lived on a stock ranch, which was 
hemmed in by high and loftj- hills. Being alone and having no 
other companionship but that of his mother's, he sought friends 
in books and became well acquainted with Byron and Homer. 
At the age of thirteen he added to his little library- Moore, Br^-ant 
and Webster's Unabridged, bought with the first money he ever 
earned. He graduated at the University of the Pacific. 

About six 3-ears ago Mr. Markham sent some of his verses to 
Edmund C. Stedman, the famous critic, who broke a rule to write 
that " the quality of 5-our poetrs- appeals to me. It seems to me 
truly and exquisitely poetic. ' ' In Crandall's collection of ' ' Repre- 
sentative American Sonnets" are three from the pen of Charles 
Edwin Markham. Many of his poems have appeared in Scrib- 
ner's, especially that burst of song called " A Lyric of the Dawn,'* 
which is like a saga sung bv some firstlins: of earth when Nature- 



THE CAUFORNIAN SCHOOI.. 



251 



worship was the only religion. Stedman's "American lyitera- 
ture" gives recognition to three of his poems. In the Magazine 
of Poetry there was a prize competition for the best quatrain on 




CHARI.KS l-:i)WIN MARKHAM. 

"Poetry," with the guerdon a purse of one hundred dollars. 
This Mr. Markham won awaj' from four hundred competitors from 
all over the world. It is as follows : 

rOKTRY. 

She comes like tlie hnsht beauty of the night, 

And sees too deep for huighter, 
Her touch is a vibration and a light 

From worlds before and after. — Charles Edwin Markham. 

Mr. Markham's prose writing is remarkable for its epigram- 
matic strength and brevity. He wastes no words, but conveys 
his thoughts by an image, tersely expressed. It is a matter of 



252 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

rejoicement that his poems are to be published in book form this 
summer by an Eastern firm, and thus to be preserved as an evi- 
dence of Californian growth in some other direction than mere 
fruits, flowers or even gold, 

Mr. Markham is the principal of the Tompkins School of 
Oakland, yet not even the grind and monotony of school can dull 
that inward vision of nature which marks him as her child in 
deed and truth. 

Nature's own children alone know the way. 

Weird and strange is the sonnet entitled 

A MEETING. 

Softly she came one twilight from the dead, 
And in the passionate silence of her look 
Was more than man has writ in any book ; 

And now my thoughts are restless, and a dread 

Calls them to the Dim Land discomforted, 
For down the leafy ways her white feet took. 
Lightly the newly broken roses shook — 

Was it the wind disturbed each rosy head? 

God ! was it joy or sorrow in her face — 

That quiet face. Had it grown old or young? 
AVas it sweet memory or sad that stung 
Her voiceless soul to wander from its place ? — 
What do the dead find in the silence — grace? 
Or endless grief for which there is no tongue? 

— Charles Edwin Markham. 

To make an extract from the " Lyric of the Dawn " is like 
taking a pearl out of its setting, but still one stanza must be 
quoted. 

FROM THE LYRIC OF THE DAWN. 

Forbear, O bird, forbear ; 
Is life not trouble enough forsooth ? 

Oh, cease the mystic song — 
No more, no more, the passion and the pain, 
It wakes my life to fret against the chain ; 
It makes me think of all the aged wrong — 
Of joy and the end of joy and the end of all — 
Of souls on earth and souls beyond recall. 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOI,, 



253 



Ah, ah ! that voice again ! 
It makes me think of all these restless men, 
Called into time — their progress and their goal ; 

It sends into my soul 
Dreams of a love that might have been for me — 
That might have been — and now can never be. 

— Charles Edwin Markham. 



Among writers on scientific and political subjects for the 
daily press at this time, there is no one more fondly remembered 

than Benjamin Barnard 
Redding. He contributed 
not only to the Re cor d- 
Union, but to the Sacra- 
mento i5^d', Rjiral Free 
Press, Reno Gazette, San 
Francisco Evenmg Bulletin^ 
Californian Magazine, Ar- 
gonaiit and other publica- 
tions. 

There was a certain 
something about B. B. Red- 
ding personally that marked 
him apart from his fellow- 
men. And in reading over 
the writings which he has 
left the same impression is 
made. It is all so earnest, 
so sincere, so on the plane of good to his fellow-man, with a little 
touch of humor to give it zest and sparkle, that the dullest theme 
is made interesting and the personality of the man stands out 
clearly and vigorousl3^ 

In turning over old letters and coming accidentally upon an 
old-fashioned red rose, exhaling sweetness and rich perfume, so is 
the sensation of feeling in studying over the character and writ- 
ings of this man. Everj^ line breathes of interest in his fellows, 
every article has some bearing upon the ultimate good of modern 
science as applied for the benefit of human kind. He is forever 
pushing the good-natured but ignorant into better ways for them- 




BENJAMIN BARNARD REDDING. 



254 CALIFORXIAN WKITKRS AND LITERATURE. 

selves, and giving much of bis time and energy to making the 
dark ways bright. 

His love of nature was very great, leading him among the 
aborigines in his investigations of the early methods of man. 
His article on " Consolula," in the Califomian, iSSo, has almost 
become historic, telling how the Ix^st arrow-head maker of the 
tribe of McCloud River Indians made in his presence an arrow- 
head as he had made it before he had seen a white man or a piece 
of iron. But more than anything else was he connected in the 
minds of the public Avith the instituting of the Fish Commission, 
oi which he became a member, and upon which subject he wrote 
many articles, as well as recorde<.l his name in connection with 
the yearly reports, which contain a vast deal of practical infor- 
mation. 

Mr. Redding was a Nova Scotian by birth, though of Amer- 
ican parentage, born in Yarmouth in iS.:4. and died in San Fran- 
cisco. August :;i. iSS.:. He occupied many honorable positions 
— that of Assemblyman from Yuba in 1S55 — and was known in 
that Assembly as "one of the Twelve Apostles." He was also 
elected Mayor of Sacramento in 1856. and in 1S63 Secretary- of 
State under General Low. In iS6S he became Land Agent for 
the Central Pacific Railroad, and in 1S70 became a public bene- 
factor when appointed to the Fish Commission. ser\*ing as Com- 
missioner from that time until his death in iSS:; without patron- 
age or emolument. 

In the tribute offered to his memory by the Academy of 
Sciences, the Hon. Rolx^rt E. C. Steams spoke as follows : 

He loved the breezy freeiiom of the hills ami mountain peaks, and often 
oliniKxl their slopes, for nature hert^ ho found in ample breadth. He knew all 
the streams and all their tenants well ; the v>aths that years ago the Indiai\ troth 
He lovevl the invM\otone the breeies sing among the hurry pines and the spright- 
lier mtisio of the favorite lark. * * * Her* was one whose character in 
fine prv^iHTtions stands well — form being excellent, with noble heart and great 
sincerity, in love with gxnierons service for all mankind, who used his high intel- 
ligeniv to make things Ivtter than Ivfore and litt his fellows to a loliier plsuie, 

B. B. Redding was a man of original mind, an investigator 
of economics. State resources, climatology and all practical ques- 
tioiis of man's relation to the world he finds himself in. There is 



THK CAI.IFORNIAN SCHOOL. 255 

a vast disproportion between the life of the real B. B. Redding 
himself and the writings he has left. The nutsic of his life was 
heard only by those of his personal acqnaintance. It is said of 
him, that with his intense interest in the life of his fellows around 
him, he would have been magnificent in the pulpit as a teacher 
of ethics and morality, for he was eloquent upon the themes of 
morality and justice, and was himself a living model of honesty 
and sincerity almost to bluntness. As an example of his writ- 
ing, there is selected a paragraph from an article on "Fish 
Culture. ' ' 

Tht> world can novor know the name of the man who first domesticated 
the ox or of the man wlio tirst tilled the ground and planted wheat, but it doe.-^ 
know the names of the men who, bv tiieir disooveries, have made possible an 
unlimited supply of food to be obtained from the waters that cover three-l'ourths 
of the earth. The time will soon wme when monuments will be erected to the 
memories of Jacoby and Komy, for the world is beginning to recognize that the 
invention that makes possible an additional supply of food does more for the 
happiness of the human race than the discovery of an asteroid or the resolving 
of a nebula. 

Another is from a bright sketch entitled "Fishing on the 
Cloud River ' ' : 

"When the tirst of the run arrives and the tish are scarce, the ardent 
sportsman will climb rocks, crowd through bushes and whip pool after pool. 
When rewarded with a bite, he will play the tish as tenderly as if it were a 
maiden that he loved, and, when safely landed, bear it proudly into camp and 
tell the story of its capture with enthusiasm. But when the river-bed is black 
with the backs of the tish and every cast is rewarded with a bite, it then becomes 
labor and not sport. He looks back to see if he can clear the branches of the 
azaleas, whose gorgeous pink and white blossoms perfvune the air, makes a few 
short casts to take out the kinks and wet the line, and then enters into that 
heaven where the houris are more beautiful than any picture^! in the Koran. 
Scdmo-quinnat is the Bride of the Lammermoor, told in prose by Sir Walter 
Scott, very beautiful, very interesting and very matter-of-fact. But SaJino iridea, 
with its raiubow-and-silver sides, his handsome t'orm and his delightfully aristo- 
cratic reserve, is the same story told in rich poetry and finely rendered with the 
aid of all Donizetti's deep harmony and charming melodies. Salmon is the prac- 
tical joint of the dinner, very good and absolutely necessary to the feast, but a 
trout of '.he Cloud is the anecdote, the repartee and wit over the " walnuts and 
the wine.'' 

"The Life and Writings of B. B. Redding " is the title of a 
book, now in press, published by his son, Joseph D. Redding. 



256 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

oliildloss mother of dead empires, we 
The latest born of all the Western lands, 
In fancied kinship stretch our infant hands 

Across the intervening seas to thee. 

Thine the immortal twilight, ours the dawn. 
Yet we shall have our names to canonize. 
Our past to haunt us with its solemn eves. 

Our ruins when this restles>; age is gone. 

Thus speaks Lucius Harwood Foote to Italy in his poem. 
"A Red-Letter Daj'." which gives its name to a choice volume 
of verse, issued in Boston in 1SS2. Exquisite and fine are all of 
these lines, a graceful felicity of 
expression , deep love of nature 
and an under current oi thought 
uniting to make it a volume ot 
genuine poetry — a credit to 
our literature. In speaking of 
a humming bird he says : 

And then across the space 
The gem incarnate darts apace. 

Best known, however, is 
" Sutter's Fort," which is like 
a medallion picture. General 
Foote is a type of Californian 
rather rare. Born in Herkimer 
County, N. Y., he came to the 

coast when but a boy in 1S56, and has occupied many positions 
of distinction, the last being that of Minister to Corea. While 
there he busied himself, with the ardor oi the student, in tracing 
out the folk-lore tales of that uncanny land, and ia now engaged 
in preparing the result of his researches for publication. He has 
also completed the translation entire of the poems of Heine, also 
ready for print. Besides other literary work, he is engaged as 
secretary of the Academy of Sciences. 

gutter's kort. 

1 stooil b_v the old fort's crumbling wall. 
On the eastern edge of the town : 

The sun through clefts in the ruined hall, 
Flecked with its light the rafter? brown. 




lA'cirs H.\Rwoun koote. 



THE CALIKORNIAN SCHOOL. 



257 



Charmed by the magic spell of the place, 
The present vanisheil, the past returned, 

While rampart and fortress filled the space, 
And yonder the Indian oauip-lires burned. 

I heard the sentinels' measured tread, 
Tlie challenge prompt, the quick reply, 

I saw on the tower above my head 
The Mexican banner Haunt the sky. 

Around me were waifs from every clime, 
Hlown by the tickle winds of chance, 

Knight errants, ready at any time. 
For any cause, to couch a lance. 

Tlie staunch old Captain, with courtly grace, 

Owner of countless leagues of land. 
Benignly governs the motley race, 

Dispensing favors with open hand. 

Only a moment tlie vision came ; 

Where tower and rampart stood before, 
Where flushed the night with the camp's red flame, 

Dust and ashes and nothing more. — L. H. Foole. 



Louise H. Webb wrote dainty verse at this time, both for the 

Califoniian and the Argonaut. 
She has since passed away, leav- 
ing material sufficient for a vol- 
ume of delicate fancies and musi- 
cal numbers. 

At the last moment I have 
obtained a poem written by the 
late Louise H. Webb, who was a 
sister of Mrs. Irving M. Scott. 
It is here presented as a picture 
of true local color, exquisitely 
portraying the view of San Frau- 
i.oi 1S1-: 11 \\ Hiii; cisco ba)' and surroundings from 

the Berkeley hills. The picture 

ot Mrs. Webb, with its dreamy eyes and luxuriant bands of hair, 

is in perfect keeping with the poem. 




258 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

JUBILATE. 

Tired of the dull, flat grooves of life, 
I turn aside and seek the height. 
Up to the hills I careless stray — 
The larks and robins lead the way. 

Now like a falcon on the wing 
My unleashed fancy slips the string, 
Shakes ofl' the boding dreams of night, 
Follows the thrushes in their llight, 

Mounts with the lark, whose crystal voice 
Bids every listening heart rejoice. 
Claims kindred with all winged things. 
As with the birds she sits and sings. 



Springing o'er hills in painted scrolls 
Her gorgeous tapestry unrolls, 
Spreads out her treasures to the sun, 
Re-dyes the colors one by one. 

Among the fields of growing grain 
I mark the stealthy gliding train — 
A white smoke-pennant floating back 
Across the ribbed and winding track. 

O'er Alameda's groves of green. 

With village white, and wave between, 

I gaze afar, with charmed eyes, 

To where the Coast Range mountains rise. 



1 know what sylvjn charms lie hid. 
Thy azure peaks and vales amid, 
What ranches rare, what villas grand 
Rise bright in thy enchanting land. 



There San Francisco sits in state. 
Queen regent by her Golden Gate, 
Throned on her hills with many a gem 
Carved in her palace diadem. 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOI.. 259 

Old Tamalpais, like warder grand 
On guard, keeps watch o'er sea and land ; 
While at his feet the village new 
Seems melting in the slumb'rous blue. 

Crouched on her rocks, with gaze intent, 
Deep-mouthed, strong-chested, vigilant, 
Watching anear the Golden Pass 
Waits the sea-lion — Alcatraz. 

Nested on Contra Costa's coast 
The eagle's fledgling and her boast, 
Sits Berkeley, wooing to her nest 
All singing birds from East to West. 

Berkeley the liberal, Berkeley great, 
In all that goes to build a State . 
By selfish dogmas undismayed, 
Gracious alike to man and maid. 

A woman's hand, with pen of gold, 

Should write thy praises manifold. 

O, nursing mother of the free. 

Stretch forth thy wings from sea to sea I 

Hail, alma mater, full of grace I 
The Lord be with thee in the race. 
Blessed art thou, and blessed be 
The fruit the Master giveth thee ! 

— Louise H. Wehb. 

Very many verses, to be found iu the Califomian, are 
from the pen and fancy of John Vance Cheney, whose touch is 
light and whose art is ever like a bird on the wing. Very much 
do I like that queer poem entitled "Our Ophidian Friend," 
which is very serpentine indeed, and here found in the Files of 
the Calif omian, tells that Mr. Cheney was counted iu among Cali- 
fornian writers as long ago as 1880, if not before. 

Born in the Genesee Valley, New York, in 1848, Mr. 
Cheney's boyhood was passed among the hills of Vermont. He 
graduated at Geneseo Academy at sixteen, and was made Assist- 
ant Principal of this institution at nineteen ; he afterward 
studied law in Vermont and Massachusetts, and was admitted to 



st€o 



CAl.lVv^KM \N \\ KITKKS ANP l.lTKKAVrKK. 



the K\v ii\ Miissuohu setts, praotioinj; in Now Voik City until Ium 
ho;\Uh pxvo way, wlion ho came to this coast in iS7c\ Ho i^ot 
b;K^k neither to the Kast nor to the pn^tession ot" the Uiw. A 
writer for the majjarittes trom Ixnhood, he has oontinuevi lo write 
IxMh pt\vso and Yei>t>. He h;^s puMishevi thtxx^ voUnnes — a short 



chamotor study in prv\se eulitW 




JV>MN VANvK CnKNKY 



The <.^Ui IXvtor," and two 
volumes ot" verse, entilleii, 
tx>s^HVt ively . ' * T h i s 1 1 e- 
Pritt" and "Wood- 
HUxMus," Manuscript for 
two vohnues n\orv of ^xx^try 
lies in his '" don '" at home, 
and he is now reading the 
ptxx^fs of Iwv^ volumes of 
pixv^e — one of ess;\\-s ot» 
pAXftrv, the other beiu^ his 
tather's work, entitled 
" • W o o d - Notes Wild, * ' a 
series of n\usical notation* 
of the binl-s^Mig>i of New 
l\tijiland. This work the 
father. Simeon P. Cheney. 
lel\ iti ntanuscript. which 
the son has antinv^xxl and 



eilitevl. with a copious ap^>endix of similar work done by others 
in various ^wrts of the world. It is pr\>K\ble that Ix-^th these xx^l- 
umes will excite ov^mment. as they arx^ a gxxxl deal out of the 
Waten track. At present Mr. Cheney is best kttown as a {xxn. 
thoviiih he pT-efe\>5 to Sixy less these days alxMit ixx^try than alxnit 
the l«>ec Tublic Library, of which he is the l.lbrariat». On Ixnng 
askeil w hich of his jxxnns he liked best, he teplieil wu mig^ht 
as well ask hiu\ which of his twv children he liks^\l best. Alx->ut 
the libnxry he is much more cv^nunuincativ*. He is always ready 
to eulargtt uixmx the strength and usefulness of that institution. 
It seems hardlv natural that a ^xx^t should be incline^l to the 
dnulgery of a librarian's desk, but such is the fact in the 
present it>stance. The lihrar\- is Mr. Cheney's \>vrk : poetry and 
liter:xture in general occupy his hours of leisure and recreatiotu 



THK CAl.n"(>RNl.\N SOMOOl.. 26l 

It was ihiouiib Mr. Chono\ ih.U tho l.ibi.u i.ui's CoiivetUioti tuol 
hoto this year. Iti this a>iivotitiou. and in the pnhliontioii ot" his 
oxooUont oataU>j;iios, his oavnost work is apparent to evety otio, 
but frequenters ot" the library know that ho is coustautly pushiui^' 
ibrwaril luiobtrusively just such work, rapidly raising the Free 
rublio Library to the position it should tak» in a eitv of the size 
and intelligence of ouis. Of the volume entitled "The Golden 
Ouess." George Hamlin iMtch says in review in the C/irofuV/t' : 

" riu> (.ioUion liuoss " is tho litlo uivdor whiili Joliii N'aiuv C^lionoy Iins 
grvxijuHl oijil»t vssitys on poetry ami tl»o pools. Tlio siuthor lust lUsoussos tlu< oUi 
notion of pootiy, \vhiol>, alter all, is tho l>osl notion, li\al poolry nnisl bo tho 
tinest oxprossion of all that is noblosl and bosi in n\an. "\VI\o aro tho j>iO!U 
pools?" ho asks, antl in roply ho dtvlaros llial iho Hobrow Ivinls oxivl oven 
llouior, booatiso thoy ivme nearer to the main souroos o( nature an<l life; boeause 
ihoy jrive vH>n»fort to the soul now pnvisely as they iliil throe thousand years njjo- 
We believe all real lovers of poetry will agrtH> with Mr. I'heney, thai it matters 
not w'helher the aulliorof Job or the Sonjjs of Solomon underslootl all the Uvh. 
nieal rxHjuiivmenls oi verso so long !>s ihey h.iil the true spirit of poetry. Muoh 
of Muulern vei"se is admirable in form, but it huks entirely this jj:en nine poet io 
spirit. Phe other essjiys here are on Matthew .\rnold, Urowninjj, 'romiysou 
Swinburne and Hawthorne. The author of "The Searlel better" is iueludiHl 
Kvanse he is as ijtMUiine a poet as any of the others. Mr. (.Mieuey devotes ten 
pajjt>s to a oauslie review of Henry James' skeleh o( Hawthorne in the Knjjlisli 
^[en of fi^tlers series. It is not worth the spaiH\ and we I'auoy that Mr. Jamtv:, 
oven wil!» hisexivllent opinion of himself, mu.>il have sn otvasional rt\s:n>t ihsl 
he let so silly a bit of work jn^ to the publisliers. Mr. Cheney's own e.-Jlimale of 
Hawthorne is the best thint; in the book an admirable exan\ple of suijijt^stive 
eritioism. 

The t'oUowing lo\ e song is lull of spirit and poetic beauty ; 

l.OVK SONi;. 
[Ol O CM irvlRM.\.l 

Tlie tields told in silenee the ripeiunl sheaves. 
The bright moon breaks on the swinging leaves, 
The dark's great daisies are blowing above, 
<,\ leap to my siile, n\y l.ove my lA)veI 

You have siud not a gem in tho blue below 
l>ut, on my luvk, it would U\se the glow; 
You have si\id no bloom in the blue above 
Is tit for mv bosom, Ixn'e— mv l.ove. 



262 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

You have likened my song to the song of the bird, 
My sigh to tlie tree's by the night wind stirred: 
Like the moan of the pine, of the Uiue wiki dove, 
My song, my sighing, to-night, my Love. 

The (leUls foKi in gk^ry the gohlen sheaves, 
The full moon silvers tiie swinging leaves: 
As the white cloud waits for the wind above, 
I wait for yon, my Love — my Love. 

— ,^0^)1 Fanrt' Cheney. 

As a bit of local color, nothing can be better than to 
give Mr, Cheney's unconventional little "send-ofF," as it were, 
of the yellow satin blossom which speaks of the gold of Califor- 
ninn hills, and is aifectedly known as the " Eschscholtzia." 

OUR FLOWEK. 

[state FLOWKR of CALIFORNIA.] 

The evipcrice and jlour of jloures alle. — Chaucer. * 

When the rose was made, 

I am afraid 

A pretty bit of sin 

Slipt in: 

That blush — nobody knows 

The story of the rose. 

And the lily white, 

A touch of blight 

Is on her saintly face ; 

A trace 

Of— what? She and the rose. 

Their story no one knows. 

But Our Flower's flame, 
Nay, doubt, for shame! 
Smirch not her sturdy glow; 
All know 

Our Flower from the morn 
The honest thing was born. 

"Come,'* said once the sun, 

" I will be one 

To shine into the grass, 

To pass 

New lite into the earth 

For a god's own beautv-birth." 



THE CALIFORNIAN SCHOOL. 265 

"Ay," replied a star, 

In night afar, 

" We'll see what we can do. 

We two 

Will first make gulden weather. 

Then sow down there together." 

Now, deep under ground 
Was caught the sound 
Out of the western sky : 
"And I," 

Spoke up a bright-eyed metal, 
" Will help tint every petal." 

So, by day and night 

Of golden light, 

They made the golden weather, 

Together 

Sun and star did sow 

Down in the fields below. 

Up the gold did burn, 

And, in its turn, 

Matched earth's with heaven's glory. 

The story 

Of our Flower 's told, 

Our blossom of the gold. — John Vance Cheney. 

Here are poems by Edmund Russell, who, thirteen years 
, later, has come to visit California. These poems are pictures of 
mediaeval lights and shades. "A Funeral in Florence " tells of 
the passing of a long file of priests and choristers — 

And in the midst the young girl still and dead. 

I could not tell if she were young and fair — 

I only knew that she was young and dead, 

And picked a rose all mired from the street — 

A torn, white rose — and as I climbed the stair 

I heard the bell toll from the Campanile, 

And drew the massive portal-bars behind me, 

The ballet-music ringing in my ears, 

And in my hand the withered Tuscan Hower. — Edmund RussdI. 

And the poem entitled " Famine," where a pale ascetic, 
reading from his missal, sits, illumined by a sacred light within, 



i6^ CAl.lFOKNIAN \VKITKRS AND I.ITKRATURK. 

l>eneath the stained-glass radiance ot' the chapel. A wrapt ex- 
pression as he reads — a sigh, lie is like some lost sorrowing 
angel shnt from Heaven — 

Inspirotl l\v his glorious dark eyes 

1 orept behind his seat and nearer stand, 

To see the psalm, the chapter that he reads, 

What brings the sigh ? — across the page 

The sunlight rests on the illumination, 

Anil bending, so I almost touch his shoulder 

And road " Pho Rook ot" the Pecamerou." 

— Kdm u mi Eussfll. 

Mr. Rnssell has lately compiled and published a volume en- 
titled " Readings from Calilbrnian Poets." many ot which have 
been collected from the pages of Somer's Cali/ornian. Chief of 
these is the grand poem which has found lodgment in the files of 
this magazine, entitled " Lex Scripta," and signed Avith the name 
of Nathan Kouns. I remember that name in the files of the 
Argonaut and also of the .S"<J'/ Fraticiscan. But that is all I 
know of the writer of the poem. It is not necessary, however, to 
kiunv more, for the poem speaks for itself. 

The wliite gotts standing staight and stiU, 

Rach in his niche of altar-stone. 

1.00k, with nnviit\ing, sightless eyes.— A'o.V .V. Bishop. 

l.EX SOKimW. 
" Por the Letter killeth: but the Spirit gi\-«>th life."— c:?r. Panl. 

This omv 1 dreameil. — Before me grandly stood 

One iWhionotl like a Diety — his brow 
Still, massive, white — >.>alm .as Reatitude, 

All passion sit^eil tVom its sacred glow, 
His eyes serenely fathomless and wise. 

His lii>s just tit to fashion wonls that fall 
Like silent lightning from the summer skies 

To kill without the thmider; over all 

The sense of Thor's vast strength and symmetry of Saul. 

Clad with eternal youth, the ages brake 

Harmlessly over his majestic form. 
As the clouds bi-eak on Sliasta. Phcn 1 spake 

GLid words, awt^struck, devotional, and warm. 



THK CAI.IKORNIAN SCHOOL. 

*' Behold," 1 I'liiHl, " the promised Ono is amxe — 
Tho Leader of tlio Nations, pure and strong I 
He who shall make this wailinj^ earth our Home, 
And guide tho sorrowful and weak along 
To roai>h a Laud of Ivest whore right has ooutjuorod wrong! 

"Oh, Ho shall build in moroy, and shall fouuil 

Justice as tirmly as Sierra's base, 
And unseal founts of oharity profound • 

As Tahoe's crystal waters and erase 
The lines of vice, and seUishuess, and crime 

From the scarred heart of sad humanity. 
Hail, splendid Leader I Hail, auspicious time! 

When might and right with holiness shall be 
Like bass and treble blent in anthems of Ihc freed I " 

Just tlicu 1 heard a wailing n\oi'king voice 
Shiver and curse along the still, dark night, 

Freezing the marrow in my bones: " Kejoice ; 
And may your Leader lead you to the Fjight! 

He laid that perfect hand of His on me 

And left me what 1 am — cursed, crushed, and blind — 

A living, hopeless, cureless Infamy, 

Hound with such bonds as He alone can bind — 
lionds that consume the llesh and putrefy the mind." 

1 looked and saw what once had been a girl; 
A sense of'beauly glinted roiuul her frame. 
Like corpse-lights over rottenness that swirl 
To image pvitrid forms in gastly llame. 
" Poor, tempteil, weak, 1 did sin once," she cried, 
" And I was damned for it — would I were dead ! 
The partner of my guilt was never tried; 
Your Leader there was on his side, and said 
That this was right and just." The woman spoke and lied. 

The wondrous lacing ilid not move or speak. 

Did not regard that lost, accusing soul 
More than he did the night breeze on his cheek ; 

Smiled not nor frowned; serene, sedate, and cold. 
And while I wondered tliat no holy wrath 

Blazed from liis eyes, a wretched creature came 
Cringing and moaning, skulking in the path 

A lierce, wild beast, that cruelty kept tame — 

A lying, coward thing, for which tiicrc is no name. 



■f'f^ O.M.iroKNIAX WKITKKS AND l.ITlCKATURl-: . 

riiia wluniiii;. liiiman, wrololuHlost ooitiplnitit, 
Croiirhiujf, as iVoiu some iinsoon lash, thus spoke: 
"Ho hold tlio poison to my lips; (ho taint 

OoiTupts mo throujjh ami tluoui;li I his iron voko, 
Worn on n\v anUlos. inako mo shutllo so. 

'Tho orimiii-'l olass'! Yoa, that was tho liot hratul 
Whitli workod mo siioh irivmfiliahlo woo, 
Writ on mv soul hv his rolontloss hand — 
A di>om.n\oro foarfiil than (ho just oan uiulorstand. 

" llo oarolh nothiiii; tor tho rijjht or trudi, 

Holiovos in naught savo punishn\ont and orimo, 

Koijardoth not tho ploa o( <io\, or youth, 
Nor hoarv hair, nor n\anhood in its primo, 

Tiiat whioh is oallod ' rospivtablo' and ' rioh ' 
Sooms rijjht to him; and that ho doth uphold 

With loRv implaoablo, oalm. oruol, whioli 
lliilh liolocatod all (.iod's power to jjvdd. 
Making tho manv woaU, tho low uhm-o bad and hold. 

"Ho novor ohampjonod tho weak; no oause 

Was holv, just and pui>e onovijfh to gain 
His aid without " a niomontarv pause, 

Horn of somo superhuman throe of pain 
Lot in a oalm, sjravo voioo, that quiotly 

Tui-suihI tivo switi indioti\»on( : "I doolaix^ 
Wiiorovor ri_sjh( and wi\mijj woro warriusr, l>o 

Pisplayi\l iiis morvMUv^s, oalm forvvs whoiv 

Ho mii<ht most aid (ho strou>j. an! hid tho wo:vk despair. 

" Uc murderi\l t.1»rist and Sooratos. and sot 

Kou\o's diadon\ upo>\ tho telon brows 
Of tVsars Oalijjulas, and wot 

'Axon's high altar with tho bUH^I of sows. 
Kor over more tho slaughter of mai\kind, 

(,">ppi-ossioi\s, saorilogt\s orueltios. 
Thongs lor tho tlosh. and tortures for (he mind — 

Those aiv his works I" As(oundtHl, di.'.-y, blind. 

I gathortnl up my soul, and oa>t all tear behind. 

" This grand but boau(it"ul thing should die." I oried, 
"In tJod's gr\\'\t name have at theol" Then I sprui\g 
With superhnu\an strength and switlneiss — tritnl 

To seiro, to strangle, and (o kill, and lUuig 
Ml my souTs foiiv (o break and K'ar him down. 
Tho oalm, s(rong being did no( \novo or speak ; 



THK CAI,IFORNIAN vSCHOOI.. 2(*-J 

The grnml f:u'e showeil no traoo of smilo or frown; 
Tlvo oyos Inirnod not; tho boiiutifnl, snunith oliooU 
Nor llnshoil nov paUnJ, but I s^row iinpotei\t and woak. 

A hand reachetl fortli, as fair and delicate 

As any girl's, as if bnt to caress 
My throat; tho steel-like (ingei*?, linn as fato, 

Relentless, merciless, and passionle.'-s, 
Began to strangle nio ; the chill of death 

Crept on mc, nuMd)ing brain and heart and eye. 
'Who art thou, Devil?" shrieked 1, without breath. 

Hcfore death came I heard his colil reply : 
"1 am Lex Scripta, madman, and I cannot die." — Nathan Konns. 







liATER OVERUAND, 

EDITOR nr*D PROPRIETOR: 
MiHicetit Wafhburn ^hinn. 

ASSISTANT EDITOR: 

Charics S. iiitYtu: 

CONTRIBUTORS: 



/•;. R, Sill^ Joseph L( Conte, John Le ChiUc, D. C. Oilman, A. O. Tassin, 
Martin Kellogg, J. 11'. Qallg, i>. 5. Jonian, Charles Hotmrd Shinn, i). 5. Eichanl- 
9<m, A. S. HalUidie, Henru S. Brooks, lAXtise Palmer HeaiYn, Dan de Quille^ Flora 
Haines Longhead^ L^'onard Kip, Ida H. Ballard, Seddie E. Anderson, Lillian H. 
Shney, Herbert Bixshford, Melville Upton, Charles Edwin ^[arkham John Vance 
Cheney, llenru De Gro<it, Fretl M. Sticking, Philip L. llVtiiyv Jr., Agnes Cnxry, 
yinetta Kavies, W. K. Dougherty, Irving ^f. Seott, Ferdinand 1. Vassault, ITonxce 
iJru'is, 0. Ilouymi, Ada E. Ferris, Helen Elliott Bandini, Kate Douglass Wiggin^ 
JVrtixi A. Smith, Ina P. Co^^lbtith, F'anees Fuller Vi'tor, Enoeh Knight, Helen M. 
Orrpenter, Alice E. l^txU, Josiah Boyce, F. K. Upham, KaU M. Bishop, May L. 
i^ieney, Mabel H. Clossin, E. C Siin/ord, Marie Frances Upham, Floi-ence E. I\\itl, 
Marshall Graham, John Murray, Laura Lyon White, Wtn. S. Hutchinson, Martha 
T. 'I\/ler, ir. H.McDougall, S. S. Boynion, Xeith Boyce, Sylvia Lawson Ootry, C- 
2', Hopkins, Ella M. Sexton, Wan-ett OIney, John S. Hittell, F\ink Xoi-ris, Francis 
E. Sheldon., John T. Doyle, Ramon E. Wilson, Chas. O. Yale, George Davidson, 



THE LATER OVERLAND SCHOOL. 269 

Clara O. Dolliver, E. J. Coleman, Wilbur Laircmorc, Charles E. Brimblecomr, 
Frank S. Miliard, Alice Oray Cowan, Egtelle Thomson, Elisabeth S J^ates, Alhin 
Putzker, DjiKjlas Tildcn, Allan Simpson liots/ord, Carrie BlaJce Morgan, Clarence 
Urnuj, l^irna Woods, Flora B. IFarris, E. W. JFiltjard, Chas. Dwight Willard Mar- 
garet Sutton Briscoe, Morris M. Eslee, John P. Irish, .fames D. Phelan, Kalhcnnc 
Tiee Bates, Eliza P. Houghton, E. L. Higgins, Julie M. Lippman, Sam Davis, JameJ! 
CMeara, Joseph T. Goodman, Grace Ellery Chaiining, Isabel Jm Maison, Jean M. 
llanna, Jessie Xorton. Marie ]^alhalski/, Ella Jfigginson, Edivard S. Holden, David 
Starr Jordan, Alice S. Wolf and many others. 

A splendid array of names appears in tlie list of writers for 
the later Overland. Under the managcnicnt of Millicent \V, 
Sliinn, Sonier's CaUfofnian was turned into the Overland, and 
has maintained itself successfnllj' to the present time. All the 
names of the Californian have continued as contributors, with 
many additions from year to year, Illustrated articles are now a 
feature, and add much interest to its pages. The criticism has 
been made regarding the Overland that the spirit which animates 
it is lacking in warmth and color and sympathy. That its excel- 
lent qualities all spring from that which is intellectual — from the 
head — but that the emotional, the qualities of enthusiasm and 
spontanity and workings of the human heart are not .so highly de- 
veloped as when Somers directed the pages of the erstwhile 
Californian, now Overland. 

There have been those who consider this as a more iCastern 
quality than Western, and those who take the Bret Harte stan- 
dard for their ideal of Californian literature, have been known to 
refer to the articles in the Overland as " Those icicle-drippings of 
the intellect." Be that as it may, every one has not the same 
ideal of literature, and all nmst admit that the Overland has 
maintained a high standard of literary excellence and developed 
a school of promising young writers, as may be seen by the 
record which follows. 

Regarding the purpose of the Overland and some of its 
writers. Miss Shinn says : 

Tlie Overland's purpose is piiniiuily to alford publioation to the best work, 
literary and intellectiial, of the Pacilic region ; so tiiat, taken aUogetlier, year 
after year, it shall constitute in a sort the authorized exponent and completest 
picture of this. One of the most important methods of carrying out tliis'aspi- 
ration we have found to be througli hoKling ourselves free of psoudo-literature 
in the form of "reading notices," "boom articles," "concealed ads," and all that 



270 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

class of work, whatever tlie financial temptations, to stand for the bona-fides in 
literature, and for the genuine and disinterested statement of fact in all comment 
on matters that have any business bearing, is part of our purpose of expressing 
most truly the best thought of the coast. 

Second — AVithin the ordinary limits of a respectable review, to keep an 
open forum for discussion of questions coucoruing the Pacific region — not exclud- 
ing such as concern us and other regions in common. 

Third— AVliile placing before the world the best of this region, to bring also 
to this region the best of the world ; that is, to keep track of the movements of the 
world, literary and intellectual, and do our part to keep the Pacific in touch with 
these ; to keep one part of the Pacific region in touch with another part in such 
matters. 

Fourth — To present constantly a picture of the interesting natural aspects, 
the phases of daily life, etc., of the region we describe ; and for tliis descriptive 
purpose we cover the ground of tlie Pacific States, the Mexican and South 
American AVest, British Columbia and Alaska, Ciiina, Japan and the Pacific 
islands. 

Our differentiation from Eastern nuigazines is in the fact that we deal with 
a diflerent region, and therefore difler not only in subject matter, but in literary 
tone, having less fastidious finish and more spontaneity and freshness. From the 
daily and weekly journals of this coast in that we are not so local, covering a 
wider region — Pacific life in general, not Washington, Oregon, San Francisco, 
Southern California; are not advocate of any party, class or interest; and, of 
course, like all magazines, exclude a great deal of transitory news matter, gossip, 
society notes, etc., that appear in more frequently published journals. 

Our difTerentiation of purpose from the other magazine recently started 
here is not clear ; it has come in upon a good deal the same field as our own 
Of course, there are always diflerences of tone and of method betweea any two 
journals. 

Mrs. Ninetta Fames has written a great many descriptive articles of the 
resources, appearance, etc., of different regions, or the conditions of industries, 
etc., with popular resume of the statistical side and accoimt of the picturesque 
methods and personal interest — a regular type of magazine work. "Without be- 
ing deeply posted on these things, she has a conscientious care ingathering her 
facts, tact and judgment in going to the right parties for them, and makes an 
article that states them in a trustworthy and readable way. Her style in descrip- 
tion and sentiment is glowing and pretty, tending a little to be too rapturous at 
the points of highest color. She writes also stories, which have always an 
original tone and much feeling, and at least once she gave me a poem that was 
graceful in a pensive way. 

Ida PI. Ballard — Young woman — in the University. Strong work — 
sketches, studies and stories, some quite remarkable for her age. Study of char- 
acter her strong point. A true, steady insight and freest from girlish subjectivity 
— from putting herself in — of any young person's work I have seen. She writes 
as one standing aside and looking sympathetically, but selflessly, on at the spec- 
tacle of human life. Very honest work, without affectations. She withholds 



THE I.ATKR OVKRI.AND SCHOOL. 27 I 

work from publication, even when slic has deuiand for it and needs the money, 
in jhe interest of its bettering. Much of her best work remains unpublished, 
because she hopes still to better it, and beeause I have advised her to wait for 
the best opportunities. The best Kastern magazine editors think as 1 do of her 
promise. She has a story accepted by the Centunj now, awaiting publication. 
Special student in English, history and philosophy at the University, but expects 
idtimatoly to take the degree. 

Agnes Crary has, I think, the most literary promise of any one who has 
yet graduated from the University. Daughter of the editor of the Christian 
Advocate (Methodist), and was teacher of literature in the Methodist (\)llege at 
Santa Clara, the University of the Pacific. Some poems, of relinod linish, sliow- 
ing delicate critical power, and one story, are all I know her by. (Jood intel- 
lectual quality in her work; knows how to use the language and shows thought; 
a light touch, not over-sentimental ; has her powers well in hand ; what you 
might call cultiva<ed writing; a kind of writing that shows any good thing she 
did was not a chance hit, but that she knew how, could criticize herself and could 
do it again. Now A. B. of the Univernity of California and teacher in the State 
Normal School at Chico. 

Melville Upton — Much the same quality of work — mainly poetry. More 
sense of beauty, more of the poet's point of view ; less critical and intellectual 
quality, i)crhaps, but a very line instinct of style. More artistic and delicate 
writing you do not expect to find. It is the writing of a book-man, but genuine, 
not imitative ; a man who has lived and brooded among the best books and has 
been fine and fastidious in his choices. Formerly a young schoolmaster in Placer 
County ; then a short time on San Francisco papers ; then on Denver papers ; 
now on New York 2'imcs. 

Marie Frances Upton, his wife, met him while slie was connected with the 
Overland office, through his visits as a contributor. Has written sketches, stories 
and verses. A graceful little whimsical touch and much originality, cultivated 
now to a comj)etent and graceful mastery of style through Mr. Upton's influence. 
An interest in and clever perception of human nature and human experience, 
and a pretty, light humor, on the other hand, which he did not have, and which 
his later work shows somewhat imparted by her. Probably both are growing 
writers. 

Lillian H. Siuiey — Writer first of outdoor sketches, then of verse; has 
also tried stories, but is still new to this field, and it is hard to say what her 
promise is in it. Most notable quality in her other work, its striking improvement 
since she began to publish — her power of self-training. An especially fresh, 
genuine, characteristic tone in her descriptions and poetry; really notable; also 
her sympathy with outdoor nature. Some of her songs are very sweet in ex- 
pression of sim|)le human feeling, and there is a natural force and grace of 
language often quite striking. An occasional crudity ; her work is not even and 
sure. Wife of a farmer. 

Virna Woods — Rather fluent writer of ver.-fe, almost all descriptive. Very 
even; work always graceful and available; never touching the highest level, 



272 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITKRATURE. 

nor fiilliiig below magj\/.ino {jriido. Favors sonnets. Sclioolteai-lior from Tlaoer 
County, 1 think. 

Seddie Anderson — Quaint and characteristic work, with a curious straight- 
forward simplicity ; qnite unlike anyone else's. Always verse, often sonnets. I 
think people almost uniformly like it. Its simplicity bailies criticism ; the most 
penetrating and fastidious critic 1 ever knew always liked it, and plain people 
always like it. Something staid, demure and Quakerish about the verses, with 
also a spice of their own.- Doctor's daughter in Santa Cruz, and herself a farmer 
on her own account, and sometimes a hermit on her mountain farm tor love of 
it. — MUlicent Washburn Shinn. 

The following sketch of Miss Shinn is contributed by D. S. 
Richardson : 

Miss Milliccnt W. Shinn takes easy rank among the tirst of Western 
women writers. Sl»e is still a young woman, is a graduate of the Iniversity of 
California, and has for the past ten years been closely identified with the history 
of the Overland Monthly. She is at present editor and manager of that magazine. 
Mis-s Shinn is a native of California. 

Her literary work, both in verse and prose, covers a wide tield and is uni- 
forndy characterized by vigor and ability. Many of the prose articles con- 
tributed by Miss Shinn to her magazine during the past few yeai-s have been real 
factors in the development of the State. With a masculine grip and force of 
intellect which couMnaml respect, she discusses social and jiolitical problems, has 
her say on art, tiuance and religion, urges the material development of the coast, 
and illumines all she touches with an art that springs only from keen insight and 
thorough mastery of the subject in hand. 

There is probably no woman writer in California to-day, and iew of the 
other sex, who are her superiors in purely intellectual force. 

It is a matter of regret to those who are best acquainted with Miss Shiun's 
mental attainments that her earnest prose work should have left so little time for 
the cultivation of her poetic gifts. Some ()f her earlier poems, written before 
the duties and cares of life were fairly on her shoulders, luive about them the 
genuine flavor of the Mu-^es. Nothing sweeter than the poem entitled "A 
Cycle," which may be found in '" Ke.idiugs from Oaliforuian Writers," lately pub- 
lisheil by Edmund Kussell, has been written in California. If she would do 
more of this class of work she would get nearer to the hearts of her widenuig 
circle of readers. 

Nothing in book form has as yet appeared from her pen, but her contri- 
butions to the various magazines and periodicals of the day, if collected, would 
make a handsonve volume. Iler future is full of promise. — iX 5. Jiichardson. 

• Regarding the assistant editor of the Overland, Flora Haines 
Longhead sends the following : 

Charles S. tireeue is one of the later writers who has passetl so much of 
his life editing the work of other peo{>le t">at the public has not had all that it 



THE LATER OVERI.AND SCHOOI,. 273 

miglit otherwise have enjoyed from liis pen. As a writer of prose and verae he 
iirst became known to inetli rough tlie cohimns of tlie San Franciscan, tliongh lie 
had already been identified with the Cali/ornian. For several years past lie lias 
been emiiloyed as assistant editor of the Orerland, and he has furnished to that 
luaga/.iue some of its breeziest papers on life in and about 8an l-'rancisco. Mr. 
■(Jreene has a simple, uuatleeted style of writing, wliieii almost veils the faet that 
all he has to say is in classical Eiiglisli. He has a keen appreciation of character 
and a delicious sense of humor, with a peculiar faculty for lighting upon humor- 
ous incidents, which lie tells in a quiet, unexpected way that is sure to stir a 
hearty laugh in the reader. — Flora Haines Longhead. 



Some of Charles S. Greene's articles in the Ovvr/a/uf are as 
follows : " Parks of San Francisco," March, '91 ; " Dairying in 
California," Ma}', '91 ; "The Fruit-Canning Industry," October, 
'91 ; " Los Farrallones de los Frayles," September, '92 ; " Rabbit 
Driving in the San Joaquin," July, '92 ; " Along the San Fran- 
cisco Water- Front," April, '92 ; " The Restaurants of San Fran- 
cisco," December, '92. 

J. G. Lemmar has written some excellent papers on botanical 
and scientific themes for the OverhDid, notably the paper on the 
" Discovery of the Original Potato in America." 

Josiah Royce has written many excellent articles for the 
Overland. He is a native of California and has written a number 
of volumes, also a novel entitled " The Fend of Oakfield Creek," 
"The California Commonwealth " and " Religious Aspect of 
Modern Philosophy . " Mr. Royce is now connected with an 
Eastern college. 

Space is limited for the proper characterization of the strong 
articles which have appeared in the Overland for the past eleven 
years. Suffice it to say that the universities have been called 
upon and the brightest minds of our educators and scientists have 
contributed timely articles, such as Martin Kellogg, Joseph Le 
Conte, whose sketch appears in the previous chapter under the 
heading of The Caiifornian, 1). S. Jordan, Albin Put/ker, and 
many others. 

Among our business men who also have a claim to scholar- 
ship, Irving M. Scott and Horace Davis have been contributors 
of monographs of value relating to the problems of the day, and 
phases of public feeling. Some of Mr. Scott's papers have been 



-74 



OAI.iroKMAN WKITICKS AND I.ITICK ATlKi:. 



printoil separately for distribution, atul oi ihciu it is said that 
tlioy are classical and elegant in style. 

Some of the most statesmanlike of the articles which have 
appealed in the Ovrf/and have been from the pen of James D. 
Phelan upon suoli subjects as " Bent of International Inter- 
course." "Treason Against l.iberty," "The Old World Judged 
by the New, " " Chinese Question," and others of a similar 

character. Mr. Phelan is a 
native San Franciscan and 
was born in iSoi. After 
his graduation trom St. 
Ignatius College he studied 
law under Professor Pom- 
eroy, at the Hastings Col- 
lege of l.aw of the State 
l^niversity. For two years 
he traveled in Europe and 
continued his post-collegi- 
ate edncatiou there by 
studying foreign peoples 
and customs and the poli- 
tical characteristics of dif- 
ferent countries. It was during this period that Mr. Phelau 
cx'tntributed these very American articles to the Ovtr/anti and San 
Francisco journals. Since his return to the Pacific Coast he has 
become identified with the interests of the State, freely giving 
his time and nicans in behalf of any undertaking" which adds to 
the enlightenment or edncatiou of the people, and in all matters 
which relate to public welfare he has been that rata avis, a 
public-spirited citi/en. 

He has the gtt\ of oratory and is always a popular spokes- 
man. His addresses upon " Gladstone." "Oliver Goldsmith" 
and "Robert lUirns " have been thoughtful and entertaining. 
His style is logical and inclined to the epigrammatic. 

An extract is here given in reiluced tonu. from his article in 
the Ovrrlaiid, entitled " The lient of International Intercourse." 

ri\o rtHVUt i^tates ci" (ho I'nion. those ot" tho West, remote from the 
Athuuio soaboani. whioh is oxjHvsfil to tho OKI World intliieu^vis h.svo ivmo 




l.VMi-.s n. »'Hi:i..\x. 



THE LATER OVERLAND SCHOOL. 



70 



more closely to resemble the coiiutry of .Tetlerson than do the Colonial States as 
they are to-day. 

The Easterner, while traveling abroad, is more apt to become enaniore<i 
of European life, but the Westerner, more sensitive to the artificial character of 
his new surroundina^s, will probably become more attached to the life which he 
has left behind, and long to return. 

***■>;■■>;- 

Tlie yeai-s he spends on a foreign shore have a sort of emptiness, and he 
defers the i-eality of life until ho breathes again his native air. This predilection 
does not arise from any incapacity to enjoy the magnificence of the old civiliza- 
tion, its treasures and refinements, but he distinguishes after his own manner 
between a salon and a home, between passing pleasures and permanent interest ; 
between false standards of conduct and what he regards as the more serious 
duties of life. Such a man has little sympathy with Europe. 



Immigration, foreign literature and connnerce yield, perhaps, in the 
efVects they cause, to travel, which is one of the principal de-Americanizing forces 
at work. * * * It is the "respectable class" which is the chief oti'ender. 
They go to Europe with growing families for resiJenoe and education, and gener. 
ally with the purpose to return. And every ship load of returning tourists of 
this sort is a Trojan horse of dan- 
ger. * * * With surface ob- 
servations they are content. * * 
* They do not see the resultant 
misery, the denial of freedom, 
religious and civil, the enforced 
conscription, the burdens upon 
industry and the chronic impover- 
ishment of the people. * » * 
International intercourse may be 
instrumantal in "civilizing" 
America, but is it not on the 
old lines condemned by the 
Fathers of the Republic? Is 
there not danger, by too close 
contact with Europe, of losing all 
that is distinctive in American 
life? And notwithstanding the 
strictures of foreign criticism, is 
not American nationality, such 
as it is, worth preserving? 

—J. D. rkdan. 




CHARl.HS HOWARD SHINN. 



Charles Howard Shinn is a native of California, and has left 
the impress of his mind upon the files of the Oiwrland. 



Vjd CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

While he is excellent in the compiling of an article requiring 
research, yet he also has facilit\- in the writing of an interesting 
tale where the creative instinct is necessary. His name is best 
known in connection with the ' ' History of Mines and Mining in 
California" and the "Land Laws of Mining Districts," though 
he had written delightful descriptive articles on California for the 
Century and other Eastern magazines. 

In the files of the Argonaut I found a beautiful poem which 
is from his pen, and is here introduced. 

THE UNBORN SOtU.. 

Life ! I have heard strange tales of you, 
Of your weird winds, and starlit dew. 

And temples wonderfully cold ; 
Your cities, full of loneliness ; 
Your twin soul, glad in one caress ; 

Your face'§ passion, worn and old. 

I have known souls that came from you 
With sad brows boimd with weary rue, 

And after them a weeping came; 
But some without a sound go by 
Crowned with unchallenged purity, 

And eyes intense with sudden flame. 

Blind cravings urge me in my dreams ; 
I am not yet, but still it seems 

I shall be soon. The hidden source 
Of being seems to slowly fill ; 
I wait with passive yearning still 

For the great tlood of human force. 

The souls, as yet ungarmented, 

Press round me without noise or head; 

And there is one dear soul who saith 
That she will clothe herself ere long, 
And if I guide her through the throng 

"We shall have love through life and death. 
.^^l7es, December, 1878. — Charlefi H. Sfnrm. 




v«<STvi*nO 1HC STAA of CUPIItE 1 



18S2-1893. 

EDITORS : 

Harr Wagner, E. T. Bunyan, Madge Morris Wagner. 



COflTRISOTORS AJ^D HSSISTAflT EDITORS: 

Joaquin Miller, Walter Adams, Clarence Urmy, William Atwell Cheney, 
Frank Blackmar, Theodore H. Hittell, Mrs. Eliza Hiltell, Alice Denison, Fannie 
Isabel Sherrick; Lilian II. Shuey, Fannie Avery, Thomas J. Newby, Adley H. Cum- 
mins, Fannie Bruce Cook, Jean Washbiu-n, P. S. Domey. Ella Sterling Cummins, 
W. S. Green, H. B. McDowell. E. R. Wagner, J. W. Gaily, Mary W. Glasscock, 
Ben C. Iruman, Major Horace Bell, 3Irs. D. H. Haskell, Carrie Stevens Waller, J. D. 
Sleell, Adele B. Carter, Frank i2o.se Starr, Hiram Hoyt Richmond, Sam Davis, Jesse 
Shepherd, Edward Cothran and others. 

In coming back to the Golden Era again the same old atmos- 
phere prevails — it is alwa^-s so kiudlj^ so good-hearted. 

When Editor Foard said, " Under Wagner and Bunyan the 
Golden Era has become a sort of Young-Men's-Christian-Asso- 
ciation paper and temperance organ, and I don't know what all. 
It must have surprised itself a good deal, I think. And now 
Harr Wagner has it and is introducing a sort of German mysti- 
cism. I don't go much on those things," he meant it. 



278 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

But the fact is that it has always been the same, first and 
last. In the bound numbers before me, treasured as many 
better things are not treasured, I see the same crude, crisp 
volume, with its oddities and local images, that it used to be. 
Here are the beginnings of many writers who since have achieved 
name and reputation. Here are excellent articles written in a 
spirit of prophecy long before the other journals have sprung into 
notice with a timely hint on some new phase of public feeling. 
The historical instinct always prevails in these pages. 

"A Glimpse of Californian Journalism," by Alice Denison 
Wiley, is a well-defined sketch, giving the situation in 1884. I 
have noted it with pleasure, especially as it contains facts which 
are of value to-day. "Recent Californian Poetry," written by 
J. D. Steell, is also of interest. 

There are peculiar chapters here which voice the protests of 
the laboring classes. They are by Pat Dorney, that Irish veteran 
of our late war, a man of infinite variety in his newspaper 
work. So far as is known, he has no earthly abiding place now, 
but these screeds against the Chinese are still preserved. The 
best of them was that devoted to telling of the antiquity of the 
Chinese religion and of the efforts made to convert an educated 
Chinese to the dogmas of Christianity, showing the impossibility 
of the Chinese mind working in Occidental methods, because of 
the great respect the Chinese have for their own ancient belief. 

The spirits who controlled the policy of the Golden Era after 
1882 were Harr Wagner andE. T. Bunyan, comrades and chums 
and graduates from college out West somewhere. They often 
left the editor's office to run itself, while they streaked through 
the country after ' ' ads, " " subscriptions ' ' and such things as are 
necessary to furnish ammunitions of war in running a news- 
paper. Then they would settle down and grind out serials, 
poems and editorials, not forgetting some little "perpetration" 
on the public credulity to arouse interest. Most of the cruel 
rejections of manuscript, which aroused pity or laughter accord- 
ing to the nature of the sender, were purely imaginary, so that, 
while the reader was amused, no one really was hurt. 

I suppose I ought not to tell these secrets of the sanctlim 
which prevailed in the Golden Era office, but it is so long ago,. 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 279 

now, that it approaches legendary lore. And then, besides, I 
desire to convey the feeling of good-heartedness which belonged 
to that atmosphere. 

" The lyittle Mountain Princess" had just been issued by 
Loring of Boston, and the editors, hearing of it as the first novel 
by a native Californian, asked me to allow it to be run as a serial 
in the Golden Era. Thus it was that I first came to know them. 
But afterwards, when I found the ofiice deserted and the foreman 
begging for copy, I simply sat down in the editor's chair and 
found expression for many pet theories which I had long desired 
to voice. Sometimes people objected to the editorial of such and 
such a number as too sweeping or too pronounced, but what did 
the happj^-go-lucky editors care ? They were only too glad the 
space was not left empty. I had gotten into rather uncanny 
methods of thinking from the potent influence of a San Francisco 
publication that was based on so high a literary standard that the 
poor Golden Era was an infant beside it in mental growth. 

But the Golden Era had a heart and was wholesome to its 
core. Its sympathy reached out to the poor and the ignorant. 
I soon found that the subscription of the less intellectual reader 
was worth just as much to the journal as the subscription of the 
erudite. It was an interesting study. Indeed, the human 
nature of the common classes is always a fruitful theme to the 
real student, far beyond the uncanny and the morbid, and this 
was the spirit of the Golden Era and the reason why it survived 
when better literary journals bit the dust. 

The homeliness and pathetic poverty which here prevailed 
was also a touching lesson, written in printer's ink and punctu- 
ated by the rolling press machinery. A certain publication, by 
contrast, was so plethoric that the editor's office was richlj' 
carpeted and contained unique bookcases and desks and pictures. 
But one morning when I went in there was a mirthless ring to 
the editor's laugh. Everything had stopped. The journal was 
dead. Sadly I went to the Golden Era ofiice. A poor drugget 
was on the floor ; a battered table, a few shaky chairs, an apolog}'- 
for a desk, constituted the furniture of the ofiice. The two poor 
3^oung editors were burning exchanges in the grate to keep them- 
selves warm. But their laughter rang out joyously as they 



280 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



rubbed their hands over the paper fire. And the Golden Era is 
alive to-day, nine years after, continuing still its existence in San 
Diego. 

E. T. Bunyan returned to his Eastern home, and Harr 
Wagner continued as editor and proprietor of " the-legacy-from 
the-days-of-'49." The chief characteristic of Mr. Wagner's 
writing is a quaint sort of humor which finds its expression in the 
" perpetration" story. " How I Committed Suicide " is one he 

enjoys telling by word of 
mouth to this day. "The 
Black Cat I Saw on Cleo- 
patra's Needle " is also an 
astonishing tale. The fan- 
tasies called ' ' Zafel ' ' and 
" Zafel Again," are decid- 
edly queer. As contrast to 
these are his studies of 
poverty, which deal with 
the lives of children and 
the young among the lowly. 
"The Street and the 
Flower ' ' is like one of Far- 
geon in texture. "The 
Heart of a Soulless City ' ' 
gives a gloomy picture, in 
the center of which is 
"Ivern," the half Jewish girl, with a branded letter on her bosom. 
. As an example of his writing, a quotation is made from a 
sketch on "Tamalpais," the favorite mountain of San Francisco ; 
it is entitled 

A TRIP TO THE TOP. 

Personnel: Chaperon, Poets, Blossoms and Guide. 

Prose is lonesome in the presence of poetry. The atmosphere that circles 
at the foot of Mount Tamalpais is laden with the tune which gives the poet 
inspiration. Up from the waters, across the vine-clad hills and valleys, speeds 
to a meeting the hushed music of the winds, the psalm of Nature. 

The heart of the poet is light, the foot of the poet is free, and even the 
children, the blossoms, measured their tread in iambics. I jogged along in 
prose. * * * The children loitered by the way to weave round their 




HARR WAGNKK. 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 



fingers the silken thread that the gossamer spider hangs on blades of grass. The 
poets paused to peer up through the trees, admiring the tints that break out here 
and there in splendor, and are interested in the fungi that springs up, of every 
size and hue, from slender scarlet on the decaying log to the bold toadstool, 
which the children call "the lunch table for the fairies of the mountain." A 
deer sped across the trail. * * -x- Two poets remained, too weary to pro- 
ceed further. The hot sun sent down rays that pierced like needle points. All 
beauty was forgotten. The chaperon and the blossoms reached the mountain 
road, then turned back to quaff from the spring. * * * "Phe climb 
through the underbrush was taken. The physical and the epthetical waged a 
war. The love of beauty triumphed. My hot thirst for water was abated by 
the approaching view of the Pacific. The last rock was scaled. I stood on the 
top with arms outstretched like a cross. Nature had lifted me above the level of 
vegetation and had cast aside the mountain's drapery of fog. 

I could see where wheat fields, groves and orchards meet the waters of the 
great salt sea, and the little villages of wild romantic beauty, half hidden by the 
oak trees and the willows. Just beyond the Golden Gate I could see Sutro's 
heights, with its classic beauty, a landmark of the endless waste beyond. 

There are panoramas of the Hudson and the Rhine, but there are none to 
equal the cycle of Tamalpais, where the human vision leaps from city to city, 
from bay to bay, from village to village, from lake to lake, from river to riven 
from mountain to mountain, from ocean to infinite space. — Harr Wagner. 

Madge Morris Wagner has beenthe editor of the Golde?i Era 
for a number of years. And 
every edition contains some 
felicitous quatrain or longer 
poem, or entertaining story 
from her own pen. Her 
style is characterized by 
originality and suppressed 
fire. She has the gift in 
her prose as well as in her 
verse. Her most ambitious 
work has been a novel, en- 
titled "A Titled Plebeian," 
which rings with a true 
note of patriotism. Her 
shorter stories are intense 
and strong in local color, 
such as Buzzard's Rocst " madge morris wagner. 

and a " Memory of Adams- 
ville." Two volumes of Mrs. Wagner's poems have been issued, 




282 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

containing odd and original verses, and many of which are well 
adapted to recitation, such as " My Ships at Sea," "The lyiberty 
Bell," " Rocking the Baby" and many others. The last named 
is here presented : 

ROCKING THE BABY. 

I hear her rocking the baby — 

Her room is just next to mine — 
And I fancy I feel the dimpled arms 

That round her neck entwine, 
As she rocks and rocks the baby 

In the room just next to mine. 

I hear her rocking the baby 

Each day when the twilight comes, 
And I know there's a world of blessing and love 

In the "baby bye" she hums. 
I can see the restless fingers 

Playing with "mamma's rings," 
And the sweet little smiling, pouting mouth, 

That to her in kissing clings, 
As she rocks and sings to the baby, 

And dreams as she rocks and sings. 

I hear her rocking the baby. 

Slower and slower now, 
And I know she is leaving her good-night kiss 

On its eyes and cheeks and brow. 
From her rocking, rocking, rocking, 

I wonder would she start. 
Could she know, through the wall between us, 

She was rocking on my heart? 
While my empty arms are aching 

For a form they may not press, 
And my emptier heart is breaking 

In its desolate loneliness. 

I list to the rocking, rocking. 

In the room just next to mine, 
And breathe a tear in silence 

At a mother's broken shrine, 
For the woman who rocks the baby 

In the room just next to mine. — Madge Morris Wagner. 

Years ago, noticing the originality of her metres and the 
grace of her lines, I sent a copy of her poems to James Wood 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 283 

Davidson, who had just published a delightful little book on 
" The Poetry of the Future," a half-protest against conventional 
versification. I received answer that the poems were to be com- 
mended for their felicitous metres, and that they were a long step 
forward in the direction of true melody as compared with the 
usual verse of the day. 

The verse of Madge Morris Wagner may be divided into two 
kinds — one is that which contains the pathetic note, the other the 
suppressed fire. ' ' The Little Brown Bird ' ' is typical of the 
former, the "Mystery of Carmel " the latter. 

Of the subject of this sketch, Joaquin Miller says : 

Fame found Madge Morris Wagner in the blazing Colorado desert, her 
fingers on the pulse of Nature at fever heat. Now and then the winds blew a 
leaf of hers from the desert or from San Diego, where she edits her Golden Era 
Magazine, away beyond the seas to Europe. But her own country has been care- 
less about her, save to pick up her thoughts and air them in the poets' corner of 
the classics as time surges by. But the Lippincoit's found her the other day, and 
through them she has spoken to the world. * * * Here are the two 
extremes of song — the solitude, nakedness, desolation, mystery and awful death 
and dearth of the boundless desert, and the crooning cradle song, the baby whose 
utmost bound and limit of life is its mother's encircling arms. She has pictured 
life and death. You can hear the mother's rocking, rocking ; you can see the 
dead men lying in the sands in her song of the Colorado desert, as you rarely see 
shapes in any song. 

And this is what she said, like all who are truly great teachers, making a 
text of the place and the time : 

TO THE COLORADO DESERT. 

Thou brown, bare-breasted, voiceless mystery, 

Hot sphinx of nature, cactus-crowned, what hast thou done? 

Unclothed and mute as when the groans of chaos turned 

Thy naked burning bosom to the sun. 

The mountain silences have speech, the rivers sing, 

Thou answerest never unto anything. 

Pink-throated lizards pant within the shade; 

The horned toad runs rustling in the heat ; 

The shadowy gray coyote, born afraid, 

Steals to some brackish spring and laps, and prowls 

Away, and howls and howls and howls and howls, 

Until the solitude is shaken with an added loneliness. 

Thy sharp mescal shoots up a giant stalk. 

Its century of yearning, to the sunburnt skies. 

And drips rare honey from the lips 



284 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Of yellow waxen flowers, and dies. 

Some lengthwise sun-dried shapes with feet and hands 

And thirsty mouths pressed on the sweltering sands, 

Make here and there a gruesome graveless spot 

Where some one drank thy scorching hotness, and is not. 

God must have made thee in his anger, and forgot. 

— Madge Morris. 

Not since I can remember have I heard a voice so true as this. It is like 
the sublime and solemn bass of St. John. It is even John the Baptist crying in 
the wilderness. — Joaquin Miller. 

As this form of "The Californian Story of the Files" goes 
to press I add the following from a morning paper, the Cht'onicle: 

THE world's liberty BELL. 
IDEA OF A SAN DIEGO WOMAN TO BE PUT IN EXECUTION 

San Diego, April 6, 1893. — Harr Wagner has received a letter from 
William O. McDowell, secretary of the Pan-American Congress, stating that 
Mrs. Madge Morris Wagner has been appointed honorary member of the com- 
mittee to create and direct the use of the liberty bell to be rung at the World's 
Fair. 

The bell is to be made up of slaves' chains from all parts of the world and 
contributions of silver, gold and copper money, and will be cast at Troy, N. Y., 
on April 30. McDowell adds that the express companies of the country have 
agreed to carry free to Troy all contributions that are to enter into the bell's 
composition. 

The idea, expressed in one of Mrs. Wagner's poems, was adopted as the 
fundamental motive in the casting of the bell, hence her appointment to an 
honorary position on the committee having the work in charge. 

The special achievement of the Golden Era was the collect- 
ing of a number of Californian tales by the typical writersof 1883, 
and publishing them in covers under the title of "Short Stories 
by Californian Writers." These included contributions from J. 
W. Gaily, author of "Big Jack Small," Harr Wagner, Ben. 
Trueman, Mary Willis Glasscock, William Atwell Cheney, H. W. 
McDowell, Will S. Green and Klla Sterling Cummins, 

The story by McDowell entitled "The Marquis of Agnayo," 
in finished and clear-cut English, was the best of them all. 

Two pathetic stories go with the history of the Golden Era, 
one of which has since brightened, and the other darkened, in 
the later years. Again comes in the sorrowful recital of women 
who endeavored to live by journalism, and found it bitter hard. 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 



285 



But it is too soon to speak of them. When twenty years have 
elapsed it will be more in keeping to tell their histories. 

Clarence Urmy was the first native Californian to publish a 
volume of verse, some of whose delicate lines appear in these 
pages. Theodore H. Hittell furnished some substantial articles, 
as also did his wife upon her favorite theme, ' ' Technical Edu- 
cation." 

I^ilian Hinman Shuey furnished a serial entitled ' ' The 
Boone Ranch," beside many dainty conceits in verse. 

Alice Denison Wiley has left some excellent articles behind 
her in the files of the Golden Era. And some dainty bits of 
philosophy and touches of humor 
are also signed by her name. She 
now dwells in Chicago, and Califor- 
nia is no longer her home, but there 
are facts to be found in these strong 
articles from her pen which are of 
value to-day from a historical point 
of view. There are many ideas 
expressed in her poems, but I have 
selected one which I have never 
seen expressed elsewhere. Many 
of the thoughts which came to her 
had also come to others, till she 
naively expressed herself: " I don't 
see why out of the riches of their 

thoughts they could not have left me my one poor little thought. ' 
This selection is characteristic of Mrs. Wiley's style of writing 

A WINGLESS BUTTERFLY. 

From the dense shadows of a moss-grown wall 
I saw a patient worm in sunshine crawl. 

The time was near, so dear to creeping things, 
For it to spread its shining, golden wings. 

Its prison cell was breaking, soon 'twould upward soar, 
To crawl supine on lowly earth no more. 

But lo ! a stone fell from a crumbling wall 
And crushed the worm beneath it in its fall. 




ALICE DENISON WILEY. 



J So 



CAI.UOKNIAN \VK1T1^KS ANP I.ITKK ATl'Ri:. 



Its trombliui; »iuivor soouuhI a living moan. 
I sitoojHHl in pity and r\MnovtHl tlio stono. 

In :^J^my it lay. poor snlVoring tlnnjf, 
'T^ouM tu'"or n\onnt tlu- air on tiioloss wi»\>;, 

Or starlit nijjhts i«i snowy lilios Ho — 
Only a worm till death, novor a bnttortty — 
Ono n\omont plnmv\l to soar, tlio no\t to die. 

— Micr /V«i>>>n Wihfj. 

Vauuxc U A\oi\ wioto very thoughltul articles tor the 

CrMcn JCra — strangely so tor 
;i youttji \YOtu;ui who had not 
boon surrounded by such an 
atmosphere originally. She 
seemed to strike a prophetic 
note — prophetic of her early 
death — in nearly all her verse. 
which makes it rather sad. 




KANNtt: H AVhK\ 

traotivw on \>or nunlvov 



Sho was tlu> daughter ot" IVtor Job, 
\\ ho was ivlobrat*\l in the oarly days 
for his faniovis Krtnioh rvstaunmt, 
Uon» in tN>n Franoisiv i>\ lStH\ she 
rtwivotl hor txluoation in the public 
soIkh^Is of the city; but twii» iu the 
iH'>urst» of her sjirlhiHxlshe made trijvs 
aonvss the .Vtlantic and visitevl Grx?at 
Rritain and Varis, Of Svvtch ex- 
side. Mi-s. .\very ivmbincvl with FrtMich vivscity the 
energy a>\vi jjrit of the OssUHionian. Her nund was actiw and invjuiriiig. She 
had lively intelUvtual ambition and aspinUion-s and K>side her prwt-readinj 
of and Kvntribntions to the vvh>n\ns ot the i»^' m.' Fiyf />Y!s<, she wr\^te tor the Kiym- 
♦!•«; /\v>< and S;u\ Francisvv .Y«tcs J.f1t^. She was always a student and an eagvr 
reader of rhorvvju. ,l\iol»ter and Vaner5»v>n. 

She was also a lalentcvl at\d pretty little brown-eyeii woman, 
spoke Ktvnch tlnetitly, s;ing ScvMch ballads with taste and expres- 
siott, Wixs modest and nnassinnittg. She attempted to sup^Hut 
herself and chiUhxMi. and svicvnunlxnl at the agx^ of .'". l\veml>er, 

Man> triends who worx> shockevl to hear of her young lite l^eing 
si\apix\l otV sv> sudvlenly like a tender plattt in a stonn. thn>ngvil 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 287 

to bid her farewell. And upon the occasion was read aloud her 
poeni-- 

mS MOTUKK MAPK lUM A I.ITTLE COAT. 

'Tis long since Sanniel's motlior wrought 

A little coat for him lo wear, 
In token of her loving thought, 

Her tender, unforgetful care. 

Strong emblem of maternal love. 

Sweet story from a distant age I 
We mothers prize it far above 

More striking tales on history's page. 

For we, too, fashion little coats 

For loved ones of our own to-day, 
W'hile Fancy, many a banner tloats 

Above our needle's gleam and play. 

The prophet's mother's hopes and fears — 
Her love — are changeless links that bind 

Our hearts to hers through all the years. 
And ebb and ilow of humankind. 

— Fannie H. Avery. 

Inseparable friends were Alice Denisou (now Wiley) and 
Fannie H. Avery. The thoughtful minds of these two young 
women made a bond of congenialitj' between them. In this con- 
nection I feel that I must include a poem from each, bearing upon 
this beautiful friendship and comradeship which existed between 
theml^amid all their hardships and vicissitudes. 

TO F. H. .\ 

Last summer, dear, we stood upon the heights, 
Fair green hills all around and sloping down 
Kiicrowneil with flowere to where the silver sea. 
White wings upon its breast^ lay silently. 
The scene was lair, but fairer your sweet face, 
Yet troubled, and the light from your brown eyes 
W:is like the pale transparent glow which shines 
Within a temple, and I turned and said, 
Clasping your small, white hand, "What is it, dear?" 
"0, do not ask, I pray" — like stone stirred brook 
Your gentle voice athrill — "Look at this weed 
Here at our feet — 'tis but a weed, and yet 
It might have blossomed had it had more soil 



»88 CAl.IKORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

Ami kinder lunirishing, but so near the ledge, 

And stones all round, what chance has it to live, 

Far less to blossom? I ain like that weed — 

What good is all the dew of gracious thought 

Shed on ni_v roots? Thev have no room to spread."' 

A sudden turn, a slight twist of n\y foot, 

I did not mean it — 'twas an accident — 

But the brown earth was looseneil, and the weed 

Fell down the chasm. ''Why grieve you? Let it die — 

A weeti I AVhat use?" Then, for our hour was spent, 

We went together homeward — but another day 

I'pon the self-same spot we stood and there we spied 

Half way adown the chasm and jutting out 

A ledge of earth, and lo I the weeil despised 

Had caught a footing somehow and had blossometl, 

Helpeil by the accident to fuller life. 

So friend beloved, may it not be with you ? 

Out of the touch that looseii thin earthly roots 

Heaven must have given thee chance for perfect bloom. 



In sacixxluess of morn, or starlit niglit, 

Caust thou not send some fragrance to the friend 

Who loved and knew thee always for a tlower. 

— Alice Dcnison Wiley. 



Swe«t friend, your letter brings me hints 

Of sights and sounds that bear my soul away 

Whence you, love, snatche^i them on that royal day. 
Far from the city's walks, "mid Nature's mints, 
I see the purple haze and tender tints 

Of rose and pearl and green and misty gray : 

I hear the wind-harp's gently chanted lay. 
And cj^tch, through pine-ti-ee boughs, soft azure glints. 
The nestling birds, the bees, the crj-Tstal stream, 

The flowers, the wooded byways, dim and lone — 
1 see them all, and "mid them sweetly dream. 

But, list! dear heart, to that faint undertone; 
You hear it, 'neath the world's external gleam — 

The whisperings of the mighty, vast Unknown I 

— Fannie H. Avery. 

Another tireless worker and brave woman has been Carrie 
Stevens Walter. She has done even,-thing in the line of writing: 
that hand can turn to — advertisements, commercials, "write-ups," 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 



289 



short stories, serials, and last, but not least, poems of a high 
order. If she could ever have had the time to stop and finish 
her work, I am convinced that something of value from her pen 
would have been added to our literature. As it is, she has a 
creditable book of verse 
which bears her name, and 
from which many poems 
are being culled. The 
volume is entitled " Rose 
Ashes. ' ' Some of the verses 
lend themselves delightfully 
to the voice for song, and 
in sentiment are rich and 
sweet. ' ' Nirvana ' ' and 
" Ojala " have been includ- 
ed in the " Readings From 
Califoniian Writers, ',' which 
is on sale everywhere. Mrs. 
Walters' quatrain on "Cali- 
fornia," which is well 
known, first appeared in 
the Golden Era. carrik stkyhns wai.tkr. 




CALIl'ORNIA. 

Across the San Joaquin's broad roach of vines and waving wlieat, 
The old Sierras toss their gold at fair Los Angeles' feet. 
Soft sighs of pine and orange groves woo sea-winds from the west, 
And over all a spirit broods of romance and nnrest. 

— Carrie Slfvaijs ]\\il(er. 

Another of her poems which was widely copied is 



A WIKE 01" TUKKE YKAHS. 

He goes his daily way and gives no sign 
Or word of love I deemed once fondly mine. 

He meets my warm caress or questioning eye 
Without the tender thrill of days gone by. 

Once at my lightest touch or glance or word 
The mighty being of his love was stirred. 



290 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

And now the clasping of my yearning hand 
He meets unanswering — does not understand. 

He gives no word of praise through toiling years, 
To say he reads my truth through smiles or tears. 

I cannot take for granted as my own 
The love that speaks not in caress or tone. 

For this — my life's sweet hopes fade sad away ; 
For this — my heart is breaking day by day. 

— Carrie Skvais Walter. 

One of the later editors, before the Golden Era was moved 
to San Diego, was Walter E. Adams, a young Australian sur- 
veyor, who became very much interested in the study of Califor- 
nian literature. Among some of his contributions were several 
odd stories and poetns, one of them particularly- so. 

As indestructability is claimed to be a property of matter, so 
he applied a similar rule to the atoms of mind and self-conscious- 
ness after the death of the individual, putting these atoms 
through the most terrible processes of migration through living 
forms. I remember that in the story the germ passed through a 
giant squid, and then after various rounds was evolved b}- means 
of the egg of a vulture to settle in the new vulture's brain. No 
horror of the Middle Ages could be so repulsive a punishment as 
this process of transmigration, for germs of self-consciousness 
having an affinity for such a fate. 

Odd also is his poem on a strange tree of Australia. The 
shea-oak is of somber hue and found in the Australian "bush." 
It is often found in groves round a swamp, where it helps to add 
to the dismalness of the surroundings. The breeze, passing 
though its long, dark-colored, hair-like leaves, produces a mourn- 
ful, wailing sound. This poem is here quoted from the Golden 
Era. 

SONG OK THE SHEA-OAK. 

What can it be, 

What can it be, 
That is sad in the spot where care is not, 
And whispers so drear, 
To many an ear, the tale of an unknown woe? 



THK LATKK O.Ol.UKX KKA SCHOOL 291 

The Shea-Oak ttw, 

The Shea-Oak tree. 
With his whispering leal" and voice of grief, 
Seems ever to weep 
In agony deep, and brood o'er a wild despair. 

When the gale blows, 

Wlien the gale bU>ws, 
And the shadows ot" night phantoms invite, 
A deep stricken wail 
Is borne with the gale and heard 'mid tiie howling.blii^^t. 

The twiliglit gray. 

The twiliglit gray, 
And the soft, sighing bree/^e and rustling trees 
Brings never relief 
To the restless sleei> that troubles the weird Shea-Oak. 

The sad Shea-Oak, 

The sad Siiea-Oak, 
To the forest's green glade brings tintful shade. 
And its mournful tone 
And sorrow unknown, wakes many a gruesome thought. 

— Walter E. Adi.v\9. 

After the removal of the Coldcn Era, with its Indian and all. 
to San Diego, a new cluster of names began to brighten its pages. 
There came also a change o'er the spirit of its dream. Instead 
of homely studies oi poverty and human nature and little bits of 
humor, there came in a mystical glamour. As Kditor Foard 
would say, " It must have surprised itself, I think." 

Dr. Jerome Anderson discoursed on "Theosophy," and 
others upon the problems of the ages and various transcendental 
systems of philosophy. 

Edward E. Cothran has contributed to many other publica- 
tions besides the Golden Era, but it is here that his name was 
first made known in a familiar way. Mr. Cothran was born in 
California. His English is rich and poetical, his ideas weird and 
peculiar. Some of his verses are exquisite in music and depth 
of meaning, others are vague and mystical. And yet this tend- 
ency of thought does not prevent him from being a practical'business 
man, engaged in the profession of the law. I have not been able 
to obtain the poem I desired, so I quote one from an Eastern 
magazine which is at hand. 



292 



CAUFORNIAN \VRIT?:RS AND LITERATURE. 



THE IMMORTALS. 

There is a hidden lore, a myptic shrine, 
Within whose halo, evermore divine, 
Immortal and serene, or nearer far, 
The mighty spirits of the ages are. 
Veiled by shadows of the rainbow's light, 
AVarmed in the luminous stars of night — 
Tlie wizard angels of a phantom host, 
"Weird and enchanting as a moonbeam's ghost. 
The soul of a flower, the heart of a shell; 
Dim as a dream, fine as a poet's spell ; 
Oft heard in the mournful voice of the dove, 
Or the soundless, beautiful music of love. 
Their thoughts and deeds are one in potency 
With the Nameless Rule of Eternitv. 



-Edward E. Cothran. 



That strange genius, Jesse Shepard, also has written for the 
Golden Era. His writing is as mystical as his peculiar piano 
and vocal perforniances all over the world, and for which he is 
celebrated. 

David Lesser Lezinsk)-, a graduate of the University and a 

native of California, has lately 
published a number of contribu- 
tions in the Golden Era, more 
than in any other publication, 
though his name has appeared 
also in the San Franciscan and 
the later Califorjiian. His verse 
is rather unconventional, and is 
a combination of the mystical 
and vague and too-deep-to-be- 
understood classifications. He is 
an ardent admirer of Walt Whit- 
man, and holds very pronounced 
views of philosophy, which he discourses upon under the title of 
" The True Life." He has been an active worker in the effort 
to give Richard Realf's poems a proper setting and presentation 
to the world in book form. The sketch upon Professor Le Conte 




DAVID I,ESvSKR LEZINSKV. 



THE LATER GOLDEN ERA SCHOOL. 293 

is contributed by Mr. Lezinsky. From his many odd, thoughtful 
poems, I quote the following : 

RESURGAM. 

Ye days of April came so sweet — 
I seemed to hear tlie flowers' feet 
Come running upward 'neath the sod — 
Yearning to lift tlieir heads to God! 

The days of April. — David Lesser Lezinsky. 





IHi: SAN FRANCISCAN 



KKUIU AKY Uv 1SS«. 



:^l^ 




ISSt-*— 1SS6 



EDITORS niSD |V\R|VinGERS : 

Joseph T. Go(xhnan, Arthur McEtcen, Thomas E. Flj/nn, 11'. P. Harriett. 

COJMTRIBUTORS : 

Ihomas Fiteh, Mark l\vain, Sitm TXinV, Clinton Scollani, C C. Ooodtcin 
Himm JI. Kichmoud, J\xn OWtnnfll, Ikxn dc Quilli:\, Lock Mcloni^, Nathan C. 
KouHS, Adley H. Cummins, II. S. Clement, E. A. Waleott, Ben. C. Truemann, 
Thomas Vir»a»i, J. T>. Surll, Derrick Dodd^ Robert Dunctin Milne, Joai^uin Miller, 
Minnie Buchanan Unger, Anna M. Fitch, Lulj^- A. Littleton, Fiom Haines Loughead, 
/■Vona Eunice Waite, Marion Hill, Ella Sterling Cwmmin&, and olkei-s. 

When a now literary journal called the San /^rana'scan was 
announced as a possible rival to the .-Ir^onauf there was quite a 
sensation in the Bay City. The fact that three well-known 
journalists had inaugurated the movement seemed propitious, and 
the annonnceiiient that young writers would be encouraged and 
reconvi^nsed for their work sent quite a thrill through the part of 
the community thus interested. The San Franrisajn was as 
good as its word, and it paid generously for its stories and articles. 

There was a flavor to tlie journal that was distinctively its 
own. The opening number was a tine one. containing articles 
by Mark Twain. Rollin M. Daggett, C. C. Goodwin, Sam Da\4s, 
Joseph Goodman. Ina P. C«.x>lbrith. Arthur McKwen. Thomas 



THE SAN FRANCISCAN SCHOOL. 



295 



E. Flynn and Mr. and Mrs. Fitch, an array of talent never since 
equalled in any one issue of a journal in California or on the 
Pacific Coast. 

By this number a bsnt was given to the shaping- of literary 
effort in San Francisco which continued as long as the journal, 
and possibly longer — one cannot tell how far the circles extend 
from the casting into the lake of even a little pebble. There was 
an air of genuine sympathy with the feelings of the human heart 
that never failed to impress the reader. There was an indepen- 
dence of spirit that rang through the columns like the tocsin of 
fate. There was something refreshing in the editorial announce- 
ment when it declared allegiance to no party, "being weary of 
all of them." Necessarily the life of such a journal is brief. It 
is too good to live, and therefore the people look on with bold 
apathy and watch it in its dying struggles. Any paper which does 
not first secure its support by the upholding of some particular 
sect or party or individual is not comprehended by the people, and 
may as well prepare to die at once as to continue a feeble exist- 
ence. 

Joseph Thompson Goodman is a rare man. He combines 
the generosity of the past 
with the good sense of the 
present. For a man's idea of 
a man whom he admires, I 
refer to Arthur McEwen's 
sketch of Mr. Goodman in the 
School of Sagebrush Writers. 

All the policies and inspi- 
rations of the San Franciscafi 
came direct from the brain 01 
Mr. Goodman, whose name, 
as I have said before, has been 
embroidered all over our Cali- 
fornian literature. He en- 
joyed himself for six months 
in his own independent fear- 
less way, and then suddenly one day wearied of the whole thing 
and sold it out to W. H. Harrison, 




JOSHt'U Tli^.)^U■:^^.>^ 



296 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

Since then he has written a series of fine historical sketches 
of early California and Nevada times for the Ch>o?iicle. One of 
these, particularly, is worthy of mention. It is entitled "A 
Battle-Born State," and relates to the coming into the Union of 
Nevada. 

Mr. Goodman is a native of Delaware County, New York, 
and he came to California in the fifties when a mere boy. His 
unpublished work is a remarkable study of the Mayan inscrip- 
tions of Central America. But there is no subject of human 
interest that he cannot elucidate with ease to himself and enter- 
tainment to his reader or listener. While he has a play of cynical 
humor running all through his writing, yet, at the same time, 
that great quality of human sympathy which underlies his 
nature, sweetens and modifies the context, and exerts a whole- 
some influence upon the younger minds of the generation, who 
look upon him through a kind of legendary halo. 

When I first meditated the gathering together of these names 
of the past, not thinking then of those of the present, which any 
one could gather at his leisure, I wrote to Mr. Goodman on the 
subject. His response was apt : 

" You have undertaken a task too heavy for your shoulders 
to carry. Why ! there are kings and kings before the Agamem- 
nons that you could not by any possibility remember. 

But after the study I have given the subject for all these 
years — indeed, I ma}^ say since I was born, fornij^ mother always 
talked to me on these themes even before I could read — I wish 
to state as my opinion that Joseph T. Goodman is" one of the 
Agamemnons himself — the brightest and best type of our literary 
leaders of California. I remember in the Territorial Enterprise 
of Virginia City how much of genius and literary quality he gave 
to its columns, even in their rough days. And though of late 
years he has been a gentleman of leisure, enthroned upon his 
ranch or dwelling in the shades of Alameda, he has ever con- 
tinued to exert this influence through the press hy articles of hon- 
est, sincere worth, written by himself, or by the encouragement of 
sympathetic work by others, for his journal, the San Franciscati. 

For many years Arthur McEwen has been the great admirer 
and comrade of Joseph T. Goodman. Mr. McEwen is as much of 



THE SAN FRANCISCAN SCIIOOOL, 



297 




ARTHUR MCHVVKN 



a study as anj' other ten men of Californian literature put together. 

His tensit}^ and energy and vigor of mind mark every line 
he writes. He is a truth teller as merciless against himself as his 
neighbor. He has great 
scorn for pretension, and 
great admiration for modesty 
and genuine worth. His 
work in the Sa7i Franciscan 
was remarkable. Chief of 
all was his department of 
"Persiflage," and signed 
"The Twadler," which in 
its clear-cut English and 
crisp style was Biercian in 
its effect. But that he was 
capable of doing other work 
as well is shown in his story, 
" Brother Judas," in the Ar- 
gonaut and others in the 
Examiner and elsewhere. 

His wonderful picture of "A Dream of a Tramp," in the 
San Franciscan, represented Christ going from door to door of 
the ministers of the city of San Francisco, asking for help, and 
the result of his unsuccessful quest. It is a beautifully done 
satire upon an actual suggestion of the ministers that tramps be 
lashed to make them work. 

Mr. McEwen is a native of Galwayshire, Scotland, but came 
t o America when a child. At the age of nineteen he came to 
California, and with the exception of several trips to New York 
and Europe, has spent most of his time in San Francisco and 
been identified with the journals of that city. His capacity for 
work is not the least of his gifts, mentally, and it occupies his 
wife's spare moments trying to keep track of his writings, and 
obtaining them to preserve in her family scrap-book, of which she 
has reason to be proud and to which he is totally indifferent. 

From his satirical writings, tinged sometimes with malevo- 
lent fury, some people are led to believe that Mr. McEwen is 
lacking in faith in woman and embittered against human kind 



298 



CAT.IFOKXIAX WRITERS AND l.TTKRATTRE. 




generally. On the contrary, he is the mildest of human beings 
iu his own home and assumes ferocity merely with his pen. 

His literary style is clear cut and his English vigorous and 
elegant. 

When William Titt H \rrison bought the 5!?'.' /•y.i'uisim and 
l>ecame its manager and publisher, he enjoyed very much being 
the stepfather to so excellent and admirable an offspring. He 
continue*.! the policy of Mr. Goodman and indulged in some tads 
of his own in the indei^Hjndent line. One of these was to ignore 

"society and society slush." He 
published Mrs. Longhead's serial 
story. •■ The Man Who Was Guilty." 
..■ui encouraget.i local writing. It was 
\ 01 V nice while it lastevi. But one 
v"..iy he, too. wearied of the experi- 
\ i "^^^^ ment. and as his other journal was 

\ ^JL 'Mf^^^^ suftering for lack of attention, he 
^^^^L ' ¥^^r stopjted the >S'a« FfaHdscuH and re- 

^^^ ^^*'"^ turncvl to practical life. Like Mr. 

WIUHAM nil- HARRISON. ,^ .- ., ,-. . . -» r "LT 

Carmany ot the (>:r^Ai*i</, Mr. Ham- 
sou looks back upon thase free and independent days of running 
a literary journal to suit himself, with a degree of pleasure that 
cannot be expresstnl iu worxls. His tiles are carefully bound and 
exhibiteil with a pride, in which he is entirely justitied. 

The chief article cv»ntributed by Thomas Fitch, the orator, is 
upon the subject. "The Crime of England Against Ireland." 
Mr. Fitch is celebrat^l as the "silver-tongued" orator. He 
arrivevl in Calitornia in the early sixties, and made an impre:^ion 
upon the public tha^ugh a strang>? incident which has now 
l>ecome leg^endary lore. The arrival of the steamer with news of 
the cv^ntlict in the ICast was always a great occasion, and espe- 
cially so on this day. when the wharves were alive with people 
and the steamer bn:>ughl greater tidings than nsual. The war 
news was pnx^laimed at once and every one became wild with 
excitement. A spokesman was calle^l for. the name of " Tom 
Fitch " ' calleil out. and a young man sprang upon a convenient 
b.irrx?! and then and there gave an address that n\ng with a 
clarion note. At the close a support was imprvn'ised and the 



THK SAX KKAXCrSCAN SCHOOL. 



299 




THOMAS lITCll. 



young" man placed upon it and borne upon the shoulders of four 
men through the streets, 
followed by the patriotic 
populace. It was an event 
which has uever been for- 
gotteu. Since those times 
Mr. Fitch has devoted him- 
self to the legal profession, 
and been also conuected 
with mines. 

There is not a more beau- 
tiful comradship than exists 
between himself and his 
wife, Mrs. Fitch, who is as 
eloquent in her wa> as is 
her husband. She was 
connected wich^" The Hes- 
perian " in early days, and 
was among the first of Cali- 
fornian women to produce a novel. The title of this book, which 
was published in 1871, is "Bound Down; a Book of Fate." 

Local color abounds and the 
strange theories of reincarna- 
tion are here set forth from 
the innocent lips of a child, 
named Cora. 

"Persia" was the name 
of the contribution to the 
S(j/f Frafi(/s(cj>t by Mrs. 
Fitch, consisting of extracts 
from an inipublished poem, 
something" on the order of 
"Lucille." Nearly ten 
years have elapsed, and this 
same poem, completed, is 
now being issued by Putnam 
in New York, under the title 
While it is difficult to main- 




ANNA M 



Ki rcii. 
of "The Loves of Paul bVnlv 



300 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

tain the dignity and poetical spirit of a metrical narrative, yet 
Mrs. P'itch has succeeded in introducing the most beautitul bits 
of description and philosophy throughout the story which shows 
a thoughtful mind and a cunning fancy. Such is the following : 

When Augusts are ended and autumn suns shine 
Through vai'i-hued harkage and crimsoning vine, 
A little brown spider comes out of the haze, 
With soul of deceit, yet with softest of ways; 
And clad to the eye in some leveling shade 
Of russet and gray, he proceeds to invade 
The sacredest forest, with armies of schemes 
Of fine-spun illusions, as subtle as dreams, 
For entangling some feeble and unwary wing 
Tn meshes as fateful as mirage. 

Strange incident ! As I am copying this extract from the 
page of the Sayi Franciscan, there comes stealing across the 
printed lines the tiniest of spiders, as if seeking to read what is 
said about his kind. 

" Better Days or a Millionaire of To-morrow" is a collabora- 
tion by Thomas and Anna Fitch, published in 189 1, It is a study 
of the methods by which a millionaire may help the wage-worker 
to help himself. The opening chapter is devoted to a competitive 
locomotive race which is told of prophetically, as occurring in the 
future. Then the story swings into place in the mountains of 
Santa Catalina, in Arizona, with a fine description of a storm. A 
discovery of a mine of fabulous wealth follows. 

By the discoveries of gold in California and Australia, fourteen hundredimil- 
lions was added in ten years to the world's stock of precious metals * * * But 
this addition was made gradually, while the product of forty years of all the gold 
mmes in the world was not equal to the sum which in less than four years might 
be taken from David Morning's miHe. * * * Knowledge of the extent of 
the Morning mine would immediately enrich tlie debtors and ruin the creditors 
of the world, unless the Governments of each should demonetize gold, deny it 
access so the mints, refuse to coin it, and so degrade it to a commodity. 

— Thomas and Anna Fitch. 

From this, as a text, the bent of the story may be perceived : — 

The truth is a persistent Hy that cannot be brushed away by the wisps of 
ridicule. 



THE SAN FRANCISCAN SCHOOL. 



^OI 



A pretty creature with Spanish temper and nature comes in 
as a bit of dramatic life into the story, thrusting pins into the 
eyes of the photograph of her rival, and stabbing her canvas 
portrait. 

The hero is pursued by all the world to share his wealth 
with them, when fortunately the " Morning Mine " gives out. 

" Bob," said Morning, " on my soul I am glad of it. The problem of 
over-production of gold will no longer vex the world, and now 1 shall have a 
chance to pass a few hours in quiet with nij wife." 

Among the more serious writings in th&Smi Franciscan were 
those contributed by the late Adley H. Cummins. The themes 
of some of these articles were as follows, "Has Any Man the 
Right to be Worth Twenty Millions of Dollars," "An Impending 
Conflict," "Out of the Laby- 
rinth," " What Profit Hath He 
That Worketh ? " " Whither do 
we Go?" "Between Two Si- 
lences," " Things we Do Not 
Know," " Why Monstrosities 
and Idiots Should Not be Chlo- 




ADLKV H. CUMMINS. 



reformed." 

Adley H. Cummins was a 
scholar as well as a practical 
business man. A native of 
Chester County, Pennsylvania. 
He received his college educa- 
tion at the Northwestern Uni- 
versity of Evanston, Illinois, coming to California in 1869 with 
General Towne of the Southern Pacific Railroad, when but 19 
years of age. He continued his course of study with such devo- 
tion and systematic method that by the time he was 30 years of 
age he understood the grammars and constructions of sixty 
languages and dialects. To obtain these books in order to pursue 
his studies he was compelled to import them from the book cen- 
ters of the world. And to show his aptitude for philology it is 
only necessary to state that he studied many of these tongues 
through the medium of other languages than English. For 



302 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

instance, the study of Persian was carried on by means of a Ger- 
man Grammar and Lexicon. He was well known in London as 
a scholar, and his " Grammar of the Friesic Language " stands to- 
day as the standard. 

His lectures before the Academy of Sciences upon ' ' The Semitic 
Race," " History of Liberty," "Alphabets and Numerals," "Race 
Limitations," and other subjects, were imbued with so much 
enthusiasm that those past peoples seemed martialed forth from 
the dim shades of antiquity to walk by in solemn procession. 
Even in the lodge-room of various societies to which he belonged, 
when called on for an address, he gave from the riches of his 
mind. Of him it has been said by a good-hearted but not edu- 
cated admirer: " Alvays ven Mr. Cummins gits up to speak it 
gits so quiet you can hear a little mouse nibblin' in the vail, 
'cause ve know he's goin' to tell us 'bout some of dem old ancient 
Romans and people vat nobod)^ knows nothin' about — someding' 
to take home to our vives and talk about for a month." 

From a letter I cull the following as the opinion of Ambrose 
Bierce : 

I remember Mr. Cummins as one whose work was thought too good and 
scholarly for the public, to whom I was employed to throw smoked pearls. I 
remember, too, tliat he impressed me rather oddly as being out of place in San 
Francisco. 

From Bancroft's "Essays and Miscellany" is quoted the 
following paragraph : 

Comparative philology has engaged the attention of Adley Horke Cum- 
mins, whose contributions to the study of old Germanic languages have procured 
him an enviable record. 

Dr. Gustav Adolph Danziger, himself a well-known 
scholar and writer, says of the subject of this sketch : 

The late Adley H. Cummins was the greatest philologist I ever met. He 
suggested to me that the story of Cain and Abel might be traced to ancient 
Chaldaic mythology — to that myth which told how man feared winter's blasts 
and hated them, while he loved the sunshine. "The word ' Cain,' " he said, " is 
analogous with the Chaldaic word which means hatred, envy, fretting, 'onging, 
while the word ' Abel ' stands for the Chaldaic word meaning breath, blast, 
dreariness, murkinef s." It is a bold suggestion and has given me food for rertec- 
tion in this line ever since. 



THE SAN FRANCISCAN SCHOOL, 303 

Among the scholars and studeats who took pleasure in 
discussing these themes, which were like second nature to Mr. 
Cummins, was William Emmette Coleman, the owner of a fine 
library and a member of a number of Oriental and European 
societies. In expressing his opinion upon -Mr. Cummins' scholar- 
ship, he says : 

Adley H. Cummins was a man of whom the Pacific Coast may well be 
proud. As a scholar he was unique, and he has had no successor. Men such as 
he are rare in this world. Ilis broad scholarship, his liberality of thought, his 
unvarying geniality, the many kindly graces adorning his personal character — 
all combined to arouse the respect and admiration of his fellow-men. Having 
been a student for years of comparative philology, Orientalism, ethnology 
and kindred sciences, association with one of his extensive erudition in these 
matters was a delightful treat. 

As an illustration of the range of his linguistic attainments, it may b^ 
mentioned that at my last visit to him, while he was ill and shortly before his 
decease, we discussed the proper use of certain words in the Zend or Avesta 
language — a tongue in which only three or four persons in America take interest, 
as I am informed by Professor A. U. W. Jackson, Columbian College, one of 
America's leading Avestan scholars, I inquired of Mr. Cummins what the 
masculine form of " who" or " that" was in Zend. His response was immediate 
with the full explanation. " In the sentence, ' Ahmi yat ahmi.' translated ' I am 
that I am,' 'yat 'is the neuter," he told me. "The masculine form 'yo' (who) 
should be used when a man or God is speaking, instead of 'yat,' neuter. But 
generally it should be ' Ahmi yo ahmi,' to express ' I am who (or that) I am." 

Mr. Cummins' grammar of that little known Frisian language compares 
favorably with the best work of the great German philologists. 

As recreation after hours spent in connection with his legal 
profession, Mr, Cummins read the Mahabarata and Sakuntala 
and the Vedas— those treasures of the Sanscrit language — as 
other people read novels. While he found great pleasure and 
delight in the pursuit of these great masterpices of language, yet 
his physical strength was not sufficient to meet the demands 
made upon it. And primarily as a result of over-study his life 
came to an abrupt close. He died of heart disease at the age of 
39, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland. His 
philosophical library is preserved as a whole in the Free Library 
of San Francisco for the benefit of future scholars who are not 
able to possess these volumes. 

It is to the credit of Joseph Goodman and Arthur McEwen 
that they did not think that the work of Mr. Cummins was " too 



304 CAIJFORNIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

good and too scholarly " for the public, and that his essaj^s have 
found place in their journal, the San Frauiiscati. The public, 
as a whole, may not have justified them in their high estimate, 
but in individual cases these editors Iiavr been justified. For 
these articles have been cut out and placed in scrap-books as 
material worthy of preservation. An extract is here given from 
an article on " The Corrupter — Wealth." 

It is wealth that kills a nation : not as wealth, but because of the in- 
equality of its distribution, 

No nation has ever yet gone to decay because it was poor. 

This is a matter wliich concerns us deeply as Americans — not to prevent 
the increase of wealth, but to remedy and prevent the monstrous, the gigantic 
inequality of its distribution now permitted by society. 

^Vhither are we drifting? Let us see. Look along that parallel of 
latitude that skirts the Mediterranean and passes on to the East. It is the 
Campo Santo of nations. The monuments of their decayed grandeur and glory 
are to be seen in the pillared aisles of the temples and palaces of desolated cities 
— of busy marts gone to ruin and destruction. The hum of trade and industry, 
the jarring of the looms that wove rich cloths, the din of the busy artificers, have 
long ago vibrated into thin air. The busy multitude and their marvelous 
activities have departed into oblivion with the dim region of dreams. 

There is an engraving hanging on a wall in this city of San Francisco, an 
engraving which thousands iiave stopped to admire and study. It is like the 
voice of one crying in the wilderness — like the eloquent tongue of the desert 
preacher. It represents, I think, the ruins of I'ersepolis. Stately columns and 
graceful pillars rise on every side ; in the foreground a flight of marble steps is 
pictured. It is midnight and moonlight on the desert, lu that bright light, 
which many, have observed to illumine such solitudes, a vivid evidence of life 
appeal's. Those halls are no longer tenantless, silent and foi^aken. A king and 
his queen have deigned to visit them. 

Ages ago one who was pleased to term himself the King of Kings— whose 
reign extended from the (iolden Horn to Samarcard, from the llydaspes to the 
-F.gean — was wont to pace those corridoi-s in luxury and pride; but up those 
marble steps now pace in solitary grandeur the king of beasts and his consort, 
and his roar sounds out the requiem of the departed State. 

And yet within that city and all the countless towns along that line of 
latitude there was a time wlien life was sweet to the human inhabitants; when 
mothers looked with holy joy upon the budding promise of youth ; love looked 
into the eyes of love and told in silence, or in soft and tender words, that old, 
old story, which man has ever told his mate, and will continue so to do as long as 

Myrtles grow and roses blow 
And morning brings the sun ; 



THE SAN FRANCISCAN SCHOOL. 305 

Where sorrow-stricken people with breaking hearts hiid away their dead to rest 
and asked, "When shall it please (iod that we meet again?" 

The young, the bright, the beautitul, the mourned and the mourner, have 
alike passed away, and the state and majesty of their country have departed. 
Why so? Because the Corrupter came to dwell witii them; because wealth 
accumulated and men decayed. The rich became richer, the poor poorer. 
While the one rioted in ill-gotten opulence, the other pined away in infinite 
pain. So alongside the name of that nation, upon a blank space in the page of 
lustory, is written: " This nation became so vile and infamous that it was no longer 
fit to live ; it therefore died." 

The sword of vengeance is ready drawn for any other nation which per- 
mits such a state of society. The executioner, though not in sight, will appear 
at the critical moment and smite the worthless head from the infamous trunk.'' 

— Adley IT. Cummins. 

Among' other writers was Hiram Hoyt Richmond, who wrote 
an epic on " Montez.nma" which was published in the Kast, and 
received favorable comments from some of the critics. 

A quotation is here made from a later poem by Mr. Richards 
entitled 

A MAN OF SORROWS, BUT A SMILING LORD. 

"A man of soirows and acquaint with grief," 
So did Isaiah name him when liis eyes 
Blazed the dark night with deep read prophesies, 

Yet, in eternal measurement but brief. 

I love to think of him as happy crowned. 
Crowned with a purpose that he knew full well 
AVould break the dark environments of hell 

And pierce the casement of each dark profound. 

And though no scripture wreathes him with a smile, 

So may the sun smile on without re-cord, 

Yet, let us look upon a smiling Lord 
With reverence deepened, and no thought of guile. 

Sunshine and starstine let our gospel be, 

That it may drive the blackness from the skies 
And fill the earth with love's sweet symphonies, 

And leave each soul fresh panoplied and free. 

— Hi ram lloyt Richmond. 

Minnie Buchanan Unger was the dramatic critic of the Sa?i 
Franciscan, and has been placed with the trio of women who 
have succeeded in this line with Mrs. Austin of the Argo7iaut 
and Mrs. Chretien of the Examiner. 



^u6 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Kate Waters has also essayed this work with success, and 
her department in the San Frayiciscan (signed " Francesca") was 
most excellent. 

I must admit that I loved the San Frandscati. It is as dear 
a memory to me as the quartz mills of my early childhood. And 
there I brought my contributions to be milled and crushed and 
ground, and to learn that process which cast out the refuse, and 
with quicksilver caught up the little glints of gold and silver 
that were left. They were not many, it is true ; but the quartz 
man had ever a kind heart and never failed to find a glint some- 
where. Mr. Goodman and Mr. McEwen were both kind enough 
to approve of my story of the great cattle range entitled " Gen- 
tleman Joe," which has been reprinted several times elsewhere 
and is still traveling the rounds. 

From the World's Fair Magazine the following is quoted : 

Ella Sterling Cummins was born in 
Sacramento Count}', California. It is 
stated that as a child she was cradled in 
the miner's gold rocker. She grew up 
•imong the silver quartz mines and mills 
of Esmeralda, Nevada, in tlie region of 
the Sierra Nevadas. Her education was 
received from a mother of literary 
tastes — Mrs. D. H. Haskell, now of San 
Francisco — and the Sacramento public 
schools. Mrs. Cummins' husband, the 
late Adley H. Cummins, was well known 
in San Francisco as an active business 
man and attorney. Mrs. Cummins has 
written for the coast press since her fif- 
teenth year and has also contributed to 
Eastern magazines. Her first novel was 
issued in IbSO — " Little Mountain Prin- 
ELLA STERLING CUMMINS. cess." 

It was during Mr. Harrison's incumbency of the San Fraa- 
ciscan that the holiday number was issued, which, for its chief 
feature, presented the " sea-lion " in his finest pose. 





FROM CHRISTMAS TITLF, PAGE OF " SAN FRANCISCAN." 







1881-1883. 
EDITORS: 

Harry McDowell and Harry Bigelow. 

COJSLTl^IBUTORS: 

Flora Haines Longhead, Minnie Buchannan Unger, Adelaide Holmes, Mia 
Sterling Cummins, Frona Eunice Waiie, Sarah Lawson and others. 

One day it occurred to an Argonaut editor to start a paper 
containing serial stories, something sensational and not on so 
high a literary plane as the Argonaut. As the result of this 
brilliant idea the Ingleside was born. The public did not " catch 
on " to the idea until it had passed from the office and control of 
the Argojiaut into the hands of two young men, who proceeded 
to wind up their new toy and see how fast the machinery could 
be made to revolve. After many experiments, enough to fill a 
volume, they settled down to a definite plan, and the result was 



THE INGLESIDE SCHOOL. 309 

something remarkable. Harry McDowell and Harry Bigelow 
were both clever students of human nature, had no compunctions 
about telling the truth about people, and forgot all about trying 
to curry favor with some rich monopoly or individual or power 
to sustain them while they carried the paper on. It was a grand 
thing while it lasted, but that was not long. 

Such columns of inner history of ourselves as appeared in 
the Ingleside under the direction of these two writers. Bigelow's 
department, "Notes From My Journal," was something most 
peculiar. He would stay up all night and travel into the dark 
corners of the city to find out what people were doing. He would 
listen to people in the car and hear what they said and it was 
always something out of the ordinary, Mr. McDowell wrote up 
the Japanese village, which was on exhibition here at that time. 
And he had every detail of the lives of those mannikin people 
presented like a living picture. I happened to know, because I 
was writing it up at the same time myself, and could appreciate 
the little touches of insight which were there revealed more than 
the casual observer. He picked out the prettiest Japanese tea- 
house girl and made a study of her. That sort of thing is com- 
mon enough now, but it was unique then. The stories of Mr. 
McDowell were drawn with bold lines, but compact and to the 
point. His " Marquis of Aguayo," a Mexican story, while not 
exactly pleasant in its plot, yet is an example of literar)" excel- 
lence. "His "Story of a Kingdom," a sort of allegory, with 
side lines like the " Ancient Mariner," is a prose poem. 

Harry Borden McDowell was born in Texas, coming to Cali- 
fornia as a child and attending school in San Francisco. After 
finishing his education in an Eastern college and having a trip 
abroad, he returned to San Francisco and shortl}^ afterward 
devoted his energies to the Ingleside. He was correspondent for 
the Argonaut under the name " Viveer." With a special knack 
for getting hold of Oriental things, he wrote studies upon the 
" Chinese Theater" and other similar themes for the Centwy. 

After the Ingleside faded away, Mr. McDowell went to New 
York and for years was engaged upon a volume entitled " Chi- 
nese Philosophy," while working at the Chinese Embassy. 
Irately he introduced the idea of making known the rejected 



;io 



CAT.IFoRNIAX WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



plays of dramatists in New York to the public, a venture which 
has attracted attention. 

But it is doubtful it" he has ever eclipsed his literarx eftbrts 
in the old //t^/csitic. 

Henry Derby Bigelow — but words tail in trying to give a 
proper representation of this Californian writer. Mere common- 
places seem absurd when placed beside his name. He was born 
in Cincinnati, Ohio, in iS6o, took naturally to writing and gained 
his literary start from the .-i^gonauL 

When people begin to discuss Harry Bigelow it seems to me 
as if I had never known him nor seen him. Mine is the conven- 
tional idea — a brisk figure 
passing along the street, with 
dainty tlower or even large 
bunch of flowers in his but- 
tonhole : either with long hair 
and \'au Dyke beard, or else 
the other extreme — shaven 
and shorn as close as a priest. 
He always seems interested in 
some trivial little thing that 
concerns yourself, and then 
suddenly tiies along to attend 
to some joiinialistic enter- 
prise. But people laugh at 
this being the man. So many 
legends have chistered about 
his name that it seems impossible to believe him anything but an 
extraordinary human being. 

Paragraphs are always flying through the daily press rela- 
tive to some new exploit of Mr. Bigelow' s in coiniectiou with the 
Daily Examiner, the journal with which he has been connected 
for the last seven or eight years. The last is here quoted from 
Arthur McEwen. 

The aohievemont of ITarrv P. Bigelow in interviewing, for the Examiner, 
Kvans and S<M\tag, the train rv^bWrs and murderersi, who an? hidden in the 
mountains of the King's Kiver rt^gion — a wild and broken country, to j^netrate 
which is as much as an othoer's life is worth, as the experiences of the pursuit 




IIKNKV in.i 



THE INGLESIDE SCHOOL. ^II 

lias proved — lias brouglit that original anil varionsiy gifteil young man into 
public notice. 

There is only one " Petey." lie is known to the profession and all his 
friends as "Petey," because that's the most inconsequent, frivolous name that can 
be invented for him. And there never was a more inconsequent, frivolous 
human being born than Bigelow — that is, apparently. He is tall, slight, wears a 
bang, dresses elegantly, and is so frail and pale that once when he shaved his 
beard oft, a dnuikon man started back at sight of him and muttered, in startled 
amazement, "Good God ! the Holy (hail ! " 

Life to him, on the surface, is one long jest and giggle. Seeing him 
dancing along the street, llower in button-hole, cune in hand, and rigged out in 
Poole's best — for Petey buys his clothes in London — one would take him for a 
gay young man of fortune. He is stopped every few yards, for he knows every- 
body. All the club gossip, all the society scandals, all the funny stories, credit- 
able or discreditable, concerning men-about-town he has at his tongue or pen's 
end. Let a distinguisl\ed actress, actor, musician, author, traveler or criminal 
come to town, and witiiin twenty-four hours Petey is the bosom friend of tliat 
celebrity. He gives thorn dinners, sends them flowers, exchanges notes every 
hour or two, shows them through Chinatown, leads them in triumph to view the 
Examiner press-rooms, sees them oil" on the trains and steamers, kissing the ladies 
and wringing the hands of the gentlemen, and his mail from all parts of the 
world from such people is as extensive nearly as a theatrical manager's. There 
is a box at his disposal in every theater, all the florists have him on their free 
lists, and the proprietors of the best restaurants bow to the ground before liin). 

He has been everywhere — on the press of New York and London, and 
two years ago he sped across the continent and the Atlantic, and strapping a 
knapsack on his back, refreshed himself with a pedestrian tour through the 
south of France. It happened thus : Petey had just iinislied a long article in 
the Examiner office, and, throwing down his pen, sighed in his gentle way, saying: 
"I'm tired of this grind. There's two things I'm going to do right now— have a 
glass of beer and go to France." He took the beer instanter and was off" to 
Europe next day. 

Land him anywhere on earth and give him time to get the returns from 
his copy and Petey will be in clover, for he can write well, with extraordinary 
versatility, and he is too highly strung, nervously, to know wiiat laziness is. 

Under Bigelow's laughing Bohemianismand utter disregard for the morrow, 
as well as veracity, there is a whole lot of grit and steadfast perseverance. His 
slim body is iron in its powers of endurance and he has astonished people more 
than once by his cheery nerve in the presence of danger, though lie's the last man 
one would associate with the idea of lighting. Those to whom he is only a rattle- 
brained, foppish young fellow, fond ot the promenade and given to cavorting, like 
a poodle, when he is unusnally merry, cannot figure him as the interviewer of 
desperate bandits on whose heads a $10,000 price is set. But the newspaper 
men, aware of Petey's diplomatic genius, iiis singular power of winning the liking 
and confidence of women, and his deathless determination to succeed when he 
sets out on an enterprise, only laugh and shake his hand in congratulation. When 



312 CALIKORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

lie blow into the A'lamiatT otHee the other night in a flannel shirt and raga, 
unshaven, nnshorn, dirty ami looking like a bandit himself, there wa^ no surprise. 

" Well, Petie ? " asked the news editor. 

" I got 'em,'' answeret.! Mr. Bigelow briskly, and sitting down as he was,' 
wrote out for the morning's paper his four-column interview with the sanguinary 
train robbers. 

It is tine to see how Petey is enjoying his triumph. He is baek in his 
tine raiment again, the boutonnier is restored and he smokes cigarettes from a 
beautilnl gold ease, studded with diamonds and pearls and tlatteringly inscribed, 
with which the i'ldmuier has presented him in recognition of his leat — a feat 
that will shine for years in the netvspaper history of the city, and be talked over 
bv generations of reporters yet to come. He says he feels the need of rest and 
would drop down on Honolulu, only he is not persona grata at court there since 
he induced tlie Queen regnant and Queen dowager to pose kneeling at Kalakaua's 
bier, while the body lay in state, that they might thus be photographed, and 
then was unable to resist the humor of this ghastly incident when he wrote it up. 
He informs me that he is undecided whether or not to run over to Japan and learn 
from the Mikado how he likes constitutional government as far as he has got. 
The supreme ambition of Petey 's life, however, is to interview Queen Victoria- 
He trieil it once and faileil — a circumstance of which he seldom speaks unless 
midnight beer has washed away the levees of reserve. Ihit the canker of that 
failure cuts into the joy of his young existence. Proposals to put him on the 
stage have already been received by Mr. Bigelow, and if he could be just him- 
self on the boards, he would nuike more money than Corbett ; but Petey owns that 
lie is too modest for the theater, and shrinks from publicity in any form. 

— Arthur McEwen. 

But there is a deeper view to be gained of Mr. Bigelow tliati 
this. While he has a morbid instinct for and a scientific curi- 
osity regarding what other people are doing and thinking, he has 
himself run the gamut of human experience. In all that he has 
seen of mankind, he has not become cynical nor hardened. 
With acute insight, he tells the pretender from the genuine, and 
espouses the cause of the hunted, the forlorn, or even the love- 
maddened. His sympathy flows sincerely for the convict in his 
cell, the man condemned to San Ouentin. " I feel this way," he 
said, "because if justice prevailed, so many who are in prison 
would be out, and so main* who are outside would be in." 

His accounts of his first travels in Europe are like those 
revelations made in his Ingle side " Notebook " or "Journal," on 
San Francisco. The life of the people is told with a microscopic 
closeness of vision, and through it all runs the golden thread of 
sympathy, which gives Mr. Bigelow's writings a value not at first 



THE INGI.ESIDE SCHOOL. 



313 



sight perceivable. But if we had such portraitures of past 
nations and races as these will be, if preserved, to those who are 
to follow us, we should, indeed, discover that all " the world is 
akin. 

Flora Haine's Longhead's best story appeared in the Ingle- 
sidc, under the encouragement of McDowell and Bigelow. The 
title was " Laughing Freda," and it told of a young women who 
was considered to be trivial and frivolous, because of her much 

. merriment. Even her husband was inclined to reprove her. But 
when, in a snowstorm out in Dakota, he had to leave her and her 
baby in a hut, while he went in search of help, she proved her 
quality of nerve. She made a little fire to keep her baby warm, 
and the fuel she used was her own apparel, bit by bit, until she 
was left shivering and naked in that awful hour of devotion. 
When the husband returned with help, she was lying frozen 
beside the babe whose life she thus saved. 

Another writer of note upon the Inglesidc was Minnie 

Buchanan Unger,who wrote 

many columns of bright, 

breezy philosophy. Her 

stories also were of superior 

workmanship. 

Adelaide J. Holmes, who 

lias alwaj^s been known as 

the " Pretty Mrs. Holmes," 

quite surprised San Fran- 
cisco when she began to 

spin stories for the literary 

weeklies. She was the 

wife of a rich mining man, 

and shone resplendent in 

■"purple and fine linen" 

and jewels. It seemed un- 
believable when she began 

to write witK grace and 

originality many pretty 

tales, all with local color. One of the best of these was a picture 

of Nevada in all its desolation, heightened by a heroine who con- 




ADEL.MDH J. HOLMES. 



314 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

trived a land-ship which carried her over the desert at her will. 
This story was one of the sensations of the Argonajit, while in 
her column in the higleside she had opportunity to express many 
curious themes and ideas, which showed her to be possessed of a 
creative instinct in her mental working. Lately she has moved 
to Seattle, and while there has devoted some of her moments to 
writing for the Seattle Spectator. The following is from her 
column on " Vanities ' ' : 

To see Alhambra by moonlight is not to see it as it actually is. Moon- 
light purifies, beautifies, covers up the crevices and jagged edges that the teeth of 
time have gnawed. If you have ever seen Alhambra by moonlight, dear girl, or 
if you should ever chance to, don't hang around the place and view it by day- 
light. If you do, you will go away with all your imagination left behind. So it 
is with your life. Your dreams, your books, your imaginings, cover the world 
with the cold purity of moonlight. Stay in your mountains with your books. 
You are happier than you know. We who live beyond the hills can never see 
by moonlight again. We must always know where all the rough places are ; we 
have learned that the pure whiteness of the Alhambra is only the false lustre of 
the night, and we stand back and smile sadly while you wonder. We are proud 
of our poor clear-sightedness, too. We are almost ashamed to think we were 
ever blind like you, yet we would not have you as we are. What faith yours 
must be. But I must return and atk again, which shall we cultivate, the romantic 
or the real? 

******** 

There are many of our women who will never learn how lo be practical 
They still have clinging about them the old-world idea of what a gentlewoman 
is. What has this country to do with gentlewomen ? We are all women here. 
Gentle by nature whatever we do, whether handling the pen or the broom. 
There is no true American woman but can do either with grace and spirit. 
What is a gentlewoman ? She exists only in those countries where work is con- 
sidered unworthy those who are born to estates. What have we to do with 
gentlewomen? We whose mothers or grandmothers rocked our cradles with the 
foot while they diligently knit our stockings, kept the fire up and watched the 
kettle and the clock; whose fathers all worked at something; whose grandfathers 
were proud to earn a living in a far country away from bondage and slavery. 
Why should any American woman fear work? We are all descendants of the 
best, for it is only the brave, the pure, the trusting, that left all to come to this 
new land. They worked, they soiled their aristocratic hands with brooms and 
kettles and the like, and handed down to us both the hands and the ability that 
they possessed. 

»**«**** 

Practicality comes from good hard reasoning, but it pays when it does 
come. It will bury your dead and dry your tears. It will enable you to go 



THE INGLESIDE SCHOOL. 315 

hungry with very little murmuring. It will ease your thirst and make your old 
clothes look respectable. It will show you how to live, how to make what money 
there is to be made, how to stand rain, cold or heat. It will help you to part 
from all you love best on earth, and better still, will enable you to live with dis- 
agreeable people. Will romance do this ? Will day dreams mend your stock- 
ings? Will wishing and longing for the unattainable bring it to you? It will 
paint the cloud sometimes and put music in the wind. It will tinge the seasons 
with beauty, and often will beautify even age itself, but it is not a profitable 
reality in the long run. — Adelaide J. Holmes. 

Another writer for the Ingleside was Frona Kunice Waite, 
who attended to the fashion and other departments for women. 
Some of her sketches were excellent, notably one on Clara Foltz, 
the lady lawyer. 

Many other writers of greater note than these appeared, but 
as they were Eastern contributors and out of the province of this 
volume, the attention has been directed entirely to those of the 
Pacific Coast. 




f^fe^ 




CflUlFORNlAM ILiLiUSTRATED mAGflZlNE. 



IS 91 — 1S93. 

EDITOt? HflD JVIRflAGER: 
Chai-les Frederick Holder. 



COflTI^IBUTORS: 

W. C. Morrow. Theodore Van Dyke. Lionel A. Sheldoi\, Eiehard H. Mc- 
Donald Jr., Abhoti Kinney, Ca/ipar T. Hopkins, George Hamlin Fitch, Wm. F. 
i^hanninp, Sev. Frederic J. Masters, Edward S. Holden, Orace Ftlery Channing, 
J. C. Cantwell, Jeanne C. Carr, Dorothea Lummis, George Charles Brooke, Pro- 
fessor W. H. Carpenter, Emelie T. Y. Parkhurst, Julia H. S. Bugeia, Daniei 
Morgan," Harry E. Browne, Mrs. M. C. Fredericks, Mrs. E. S. Loud, Dr. P. C. 
Eemondino, Mrs. M. G. C. Edholm, Eugenie K. Holmes, Yda Addis, Stephen 
M. White, Lewis A. Graff, W. L. Merry, Charles F. Lummis, E. E. L. Eobin- 
son, Eobert McKen^ie, Dr. Hint, M. H. De Young, H. X. Bust, John P. Finley, 
Walker Lindley, Don Ariuro Bandin, Gustar Adolph Danziper, Gertrude Atherton, 
August Wey, David Starr Jordan, W. A. Spaulding, W. H. Mills, Ellwood 
Cooper, Elliott Coues, Joaquin Miller, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Ina D. Coolbrith. 
Charles Edwin Markham, John Vance Cheney, Emily Browne Powell, Herbert 
Bashford, Rose Hartinck Thorpe, Jean La Rue Burnett, Pauline Bryani, J/iw-y 
Imlay Taylor, Madge Morris, George Martin, Daniel Morgan, Harry R. Bnwne. 



THE CALIFORNIAN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. 



317 



Charles Frederick Holder is the editor and manager of the 
Californian Illustrated Magazitie. With a mind enriched by the 
study of the sciences, and a close acquaintance with Southern 
California, he is well qualified to undertake the literary work of 
such a periodical. 

His published volumes are as follows: "Elements of 
Zoology." "Iviving Lights or Animal Phosphorescence," "A 
Frozen Dragon," "The Ivory 
King," "A Strange Company," 
"Marvels of Animal Life," 
' ' Pasadena and Vicinity," 
"Charles Darwin; His Life 
and Work " and " Southern Cal- 
ifornia." 

Mr. Holder is a great lover of 
nature and never so happj- as 
when out riding through the 
country, suriounded by his bay- 
ing pack of hounds. He puts 
this nature aside, however, and 
takes up his duties in the sanc- 
tum equally as cheerfully, and 
devotes his best energies to the 
Californian. Some of the num- 
bers have been admirable, and the illustrations the highest of 
the art. 

The following sketch upon the aims of the Califotnian is 
contributed by the assistant editor, Genevieve Lucille Brown, 
who also contributes verse of very musical quality : 




CHARLES KREOKRIOK HOLnER. 



SOME CONTRIBUTIONS TO TUE CALIFORNIAN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. 

It has been the aim of the Calijomian ever since its establishment, 
October, 1891, to cover as broad a field of general literature as possible, and 
while giving particular attention to Californian subjects and writers, to represent 
foreign countries as well. At the present time a glance over the index of any of 
its volumes will show a great variety of well illustrated maUer, descriptive, 
scientific and philosophical, while the fiction is quite up to the standard, and 
poetry is one of its most attractive features. Most of tlie contributors are Cali- 
fornians, thongh the magazine has many Eastern and foreign writers. 



3l8 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Theodore ^'an Djke of San IMego is a frequent contributor to the maga- 
zine, and one of the best descriptive writers in California. His delineations of 
woodland scenery are gems. The "Still Hunter" and many of his works on 
Southern California are widely quoted. 

Among its contributors the most distinguished political writer in the West 
is ex-Governor Lionel A. Sheldon of Pasadena. He is the author of a work 
on New Mexico and many papers in the Arena, Forum, Califomian, North Ameri- 
<'o« Bevieiv and many other prominent periodicals. 

Richard H. ^McDonald Jr. of San Francisco is one of California's keenest 
political economists. His papers in the Califomian, "Nicaragua Canal" and 
other essays, have attracted widespread attention. The California Publishing 
Co. is bringing out a book of his writings, published in the Califomian, which 
promises to attract widespread attention. 

Another contributor on political and economic questions is Hon. Abbot 
Kinney of Lamanda Park, Cal. He is an authority on Forestry, and has written 
some valuable papers for the Califomian upon this subject. Mr. Kinney is ex- 
president of the State Board of Forestry, and author of several important works. 

Caspar T. Hopkins, A. M., author of the ''American Idea" and other 
works, is also a contributor to the Califomian on political and economic questions. 

The literary editor of the Chronicle of San Francisco, George Hamlin Fitch, 
is one of the finest writers on the coast. He is a contributor to the Century in 
the Califomian series, and has also written a series of articles for the Califomian 
on the scenery of Northern California. He contributes extensively to the liter- 
ary press of the country. 

A contributor on hit^torical questions is William I'. Chanuing, M. D., of 
Pasadena. He is the son of Ellery Channing, the famous Unitarian, and author 
of several works on scientific topics. 

Kev. Frederick J. Masters, the superintendent of the Methodist Chinese 
Mission, is a Chinese scholar, thoroughly understanding the language and cus- 
toms of the Orient. He has written a series of articles on Chinese questions that 
have attracted attention all over the world, and have been widely quoted in this 
country and Europe. 

Among astronomical writers have been Dr. Edward S. Holden, director of 
the Lick Observatory, who has contributed a valuable series on his specialty, and 
William M. Pierson, president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Coast. 

One of the clever fiction writers of California is Grace Ellery Channing 
of Pasadena, granddaughter of Ellery Channing and author of a work 
upon his life. She has contributed short stories to Scribner's, Harper's, the Cen- 
tury, the Califomian, and many other magazines. During her residence in Flor- 
ence, Italy, she contributed a series to the Califomian on Italian subjects. She 
also writes verse. 

Other fiction writers who write for the Califomian are J. C. Cantwell, V. 
S. N., who writes sea stories, the vivid descriptions of which remind one of 
Clark Eussell, Jeanne C. Carr and Dorothea Lummis. 

Stories have also been contributed by W. C. Morrow, George Charles 
Brooke, Professor W. H. Carpenter of Columbia College, New York, Emelie T. 



THE CALIFORNIAN II,I,USTRATED MAGAZINE. 3I9 

Y. Parkluirst, Julia H. S. Biigeia, a clever writer of dialect stories, Daniel 
Morg-iu, Harry K. Browne and others. 

Among the general descriptive writers are Mrs. M. 0. Freilericks of Santa 
Barbara, Mrs. E. S. I.oud of San Francisco, Dr. P. C Reniondino of San Diego, 
Mrs. M. G. C. Edholm, whose articles on white slaves and Chinese slavery have 
attracted widespread attention, Eugenie K. Holmes, and Vda Addis on Mexican 
subjects. 

On political questions the Onlifomian has received contributions from the 
pens of Uniteil States Senator Stephen M. "White, whose papers on the taritl'are 
the center of considerable attention, and from Judge Lewis A. Graft' and Captain 
W. L. Merry on Nicaragua. Charles F. Lummis, the author of many books, has 
•written upon Ariz-ona and New ^[e.xico. K. E. I,. Kobinson has also written 
intertsiing papers upon Arizona. The writers upon religious subjects are Kev. 
Kobert Mackenzie, Dr. Hirst and Kev. Dr. Masters, who strike at the roots of 
the great questions of the day. 

Other distinguished writers have been M. H. De Youns:, editor of the 
Cnroniclf; Hon. H. N. Kust, the Indian Commissioner of the Mission Indians: 
Lieutenant John P. Finley, on the weather; Dr. Walker Lindley, Superintend- 
ent State Eeform School, on the climate of Southern California; Don Arturo 
Bandio, Gertrude Atherton, August Wey on Spanish America and on folk-lore, 
David StaiT Jordan, L. L. D., President of the Stanford Univei*sity, on fruits: 
\V. A. Spalding, Hon. W. W. Mills, Hon. El wood Cooper: on psycliological 
subjects, Dr. Elliott Cones of the Smithsonian Institute. 

In poetry the Californian has established a high standard, and publishes 
coatributions from such eminent poets as Joaquin Milier, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 
Ina Coolbrith, Charles Edwin Markham and John Vance Cheney. Poems have 
also appeared from the pens of Emily Browne Powell, Herbert Bashfonl, Kose 
Hart wick Thorpe, Jean La Rue Burnett, Pauline Bryant, Mary Imlay Taylor 
Madge Morris and George Martin. 

The Cirli/ornuiii, while making it a point to satisfy the demands of the 
public. in the selection of matter, endeavors to preserve a certain degree of inde- 
pendeuce_|of character, which gives it individuality. In this it seems to have 
succeeded, and it is said in some of the reviews that it is the best magazine 
edited outside of New Y'ork. — Geneinefe L. Browne. 

Yen- interesting are the studies contributed to Wxe Illusfraiid 
Coli/oinian \>y George Hamlin Fitch, who is also the literary 
editor of the Chronicle : 

Educated as a boy in the San Francisco public schools, and at'terward 
spending ten years at the East, he is equally familiar with both sides of the 
country. He combines the executive and literary in his work. His specialty is 
literature, and he has made the book reviews of the Sundatj Chronick known all 
over the coast for their honest and clear-cut criticism. 

Mr. Fitch is thirty- nine years old, a graduate of Cornell 
University, the correspondent of the New York Tribune, Harper's 



320 



CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITERATURE. 



Weekly and several other Eastern newspapers, and also a con- 
tributor to the Century, Cosmopolitan and other magazines of the 
day. Of Mr, I''itch, Mrs. Atherton says in her Cosmopolitaii 
article : 

In fact, he is the only literary critic we have worthy the name. 

From a personal letter I cull the following regarding Mr. 
Fitch : 

It is my opinion that Fitch is the only purist on the San Francisco press 

to clay. You take his sentences 
and you will find them mathemat- 
ically correct. They are well 
rounded, and, in addition, he 
uses a tone of conviction. It 
f-hows he has been well grounded. 
Then, again, he is one of the few 
men who has a thorough knowl- 
edge of literature and a compre- 
hension of past and present liter- 
ary values. He is analytical and 
critical, and yet he is entirely just. 
Read his book reviews. They are 
far superior to those which ap- 
peared in the New York World 
when it paid James a fabulous 
sum for that department. He is 
undoubtedly my ideal of a liter- 
ary and newspaper man. 




GKORGK HAMLIN FITCH. 



In addition to his capa- 
bility and nice sense of ad- 
justment and balance in the treatment ot timely articles of his- 
torical value, Mr. Fitch personally is generous and kind-hearted. 
He is one of the few who takes the trouble to encourage young 
writers and to give them a helping hand. The chapter on Samuel 
Seabough in this volume is from the pen of Mr, Fitch, as is also 
the one upon John Hamilton Gilmour, 

One of the most striking individualities among the writers 
for the Californian is Dr. Gustav Adolph Danziger, He was 
born in Thorn, Austria, coming to America while still young and 
to California in 1887. Having a gift for language and being a 



THE CALIFORNIAN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. 



321 



scholar in his own tongue, he devoted himself to the acquiring of 
English, and soon began to write for the papers. Besides the 
Jewish periodicals and journals of the United States, he con- 
tributed to the Cosmopolitan, Californian, Examiner, Wave, 
Wasp, News Letter and other representative magazines and jour- 
nals. His subjects areas follows: '' L,abor Union Strikes in 
Ancient Rome," "The I^aboring Man Among the Ancient He- 
brews," " Suicide and Martyrdom," "Oriental Aphorisms" and 
others of similar scholarly tendency. A volume entitled "Jewish 
Folk-lore" is ready for publica- 
tion," and also a novel entitled 
' ' In the Confessional and the 
Following." The beautiful tale 
of "The Monk and the Hang- 
man's Daughter," a collabora- 
tion by Dr. Danziger and Mr. 
Bierce, has been referred to in 
the chapter devoted to the latter. 
The literary industry of Dr. 
Danziger is something marvel- 
ous. His mind and his pen are 
ever in active collusion, and 
story or scientific or scholarly article is ever being evolved out- 
side of his professional duties of every day business life. He is 
now planning a series of publications by ' ' Western Authors. ' ' 

As an example of Dr. Danziger's style of writing, the fol- 
lowing is quoted from his article in the Californian entitled 




GUSTAV ADOI.PH UANZKiKR. 



TWO GREAT JE\Y.«;. 

We have not hesitated to place Jesus side by side with Hillel ; both were 
great and most lovable characters. But in placing them in juxtaposition we are 
willing to give the palm to the man who literally sacrificed himself for 
humanity. 

Hillel appears to us as a wise teacher and a good man ; but in his words 
there is no tinge of sorrow, no shadow of trouble. In the words of .Jesus, how- 
ever, one almost hears his tragic fate ; in the announcement of the Kingdom 
of Heaven one can hear the beats of the hammer upon the nails that pierce his 
hands. 

He was the hero of the Messianic drama which ended with hisldeath, 
until Paul rose and transformed the scheme of Jesus and of Hillel. He could 



322 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

facilitate llie propagation of tlie "Son of God," because nearly all heathen 
nations helieved in some such legend. The Palestine Peter, therefore, opposed 
the "Apostle of the Gentiles," because the "Sonship" of Jesus or any other 
being was paramount to dualism, a thought most repugnant to Hebrews, who 
adhered to the axiom of Moses: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, is one 
God." But Paul knew very well that the idea of a Messiah, a redeemer, would 
not be understood by Gentiles. The free Arabs, the martial Romans, the esthetic 
(xreeks needed no Savior. While the Hebrews had made the Messianic idea a 
cardinal principle of faith, on account of their constant troubles the aggressive 
heathens ridiculed it. A "Son of God," however, was not only more congenial, 
but it really opened the eyes of the Pagan world. The vicarious sacrifice was a 
most comfortable thought, and the heathen accepted the faith of the Hebrews in 
a modified form, because it harmonized with his own mode of thinking. And 
that which Hillel's tolerance but slowly would have brought about was after- 
wards readily communicated by the sublety of Paul, through the martyred Rabbi 
of Nazareth. Had this not come to pass, had Jesus lived and died like HiUel, 
who knows but the Jews might have solved the great problem of civilization 
more readily and peacefully than the barbarous means which are now employed ? 
For, in spite of the latter's death for the humanitarian principle, the world is 
not yet redeemed. That love of which men have dreamed, and for which men 
have died, is as yet unrevealed. Perhaps the time is near when from the cradle 
of Messianic ideas — Palestine — a new Christ will rise, who will lead us to light 
and truth, and who will teach us to love each other as fellow-men and brothers. 
And we shall follow him whatever be his name. 

The late Mr.s. Etnelie Tracy Y. Parkhurst was assistant 
editor of the Californian and wrote many interesting articles of 
review and timely topics for the departments. Her place has 
been taken by Genevieve lyiicille Browne, who, in addition to the 
editorial work, has a gift in verse writing far beyond her years. 

Mrs. Jeanne Carr's articles on " Basket-making Among the 
Indians" have been of great interest. 



pEBl^iJ/irf'i^ iitij- 



pna^ 10 (3^qC5 




EDITOf^S AflD PI^OPRIETOt^S: 

Hugh Hume and J. O^Hara Cosgrave. 



Lesley Martin, Ambrose Bierce, W. C. Morrow, 
Arthur McEuen, Harry D. Bigelow, Ina Lillian 
Peterson, Frona Eunice Waite, Genevieve Lucille 
Browne and others. 



324 



CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



A bright and clever little paper was the Del Monte Wave, 
especially devoted to the amenties of the summer vacation and 
goings and comings of society, and published presumably in 
Monterey. But one pleasant day it decided to move to the Bay 
City, and there became the San Francisco Wave. Society still 
claims it as its own, and in a department signed "The Witness " 
are collected numberless incidents and freaks and fancies prevail- 
ing among the dwellers of the hill-tops of fashionable San Fran- 
cisco. The editors are Hugh Hume and J. O'Hara Cosgrave. 
Mr. Hume is a native of Kdinburgh, Scotland ; Mr. Cosgrave of 
Melbourne, Australia, but both are now identified with California 

and its interests. In addi- 
tion to the I'Vavc they have 
lately purchased the Even- 
ing Post, and are now man- 
agers and editors of both 
journals. 

From a mother of unusu- 
ally bright mind, Mr. Cos- 
grave has inherited his busi- 
ness sagacity and that prac- 
tical good common-sense 
which crowns effort with 
success. Mr. Cosgrave has 
the critical faculty very 
highly developed. His book reviews are super-excellent. His 
descriptive power is also shown in many articles, notably one 
published in the Call upon the removal of the incurable insane to 
a new asylum specially built for the purpose. The picture 
drawn had a lurid effect, as it portrayed the early hours of the 
morning, men with torches, and keepers and maniacs in eccentric 
procession from the asylum to the cars— and among them 
appeared the names of old-timers, actresses and notables whom 
the world had forgotten or believed to be dead. It was a weird 
tale of reality. 

The department set apart for drama and music is under the 
direction of Lesley Martin, and one of fashion is admirably car- 
ried on by women with more than usual literary ability. 




J. O'HARA COSGRAVK. 



THE WAVE. 325 

In line with theother papers of this nature, Mr. Cosgraveand 
Mr. Hume endeavor to give encouragement to the growth of 
literature in California by employing the best talent for their 
Christmas and holiday numbers. And in this way many bright 
stories and poems come into being which otherwise would never 
appear. The Wave presents on these occasions the usual original 
stories of local color which are indigenous to this soil. 

Especially excellent a year ago was the story of Arthur 
McEwen, relating to a wealthy young lady who loved an artist. 
He had, however, a coarse grain in him, which made him find 
pleasure in association with another young woman of less culti- 
vation. The refined young woman felt this lack in his nature 
intuitively, and finally was induced to give him up. He married 
the ordinary woman, lived on a ranch and relapsed into an ordi- 
nary mac. Ten years later the refined young woman, riding by 
with her husband, meets the erstwhile lover face to face, and she 
is shocked at the change in him, and at the same time rejoices to 
think she has escaped such a bondage as might have been hers. 
Admirably told is this, as are all of Arthur McEwen' s stories. 

Excellent material in story form by W. C. Morrow, G. A. 
Danziger, Harry Bigelow, Ambrose Bierce and others is here to 
be found. 

Frona Eunice Waite has written some strong articles for the 
Wave, mostly of the .sensational order, but expressed in original 
terms and with directness. Mrs. Waite has been connected with 
the National Commission of the Columbian Exposition. 

Ina lyillian Peterson, the niece of Miss Coolbrith, has de- 
veloped a gift for verse writing which promises well for the future. 
The titles of some of her sonnets are as follows : " The Gift of 
Dreams," "Unrest," "The Ineffable," "The Eand of Repent- 
ance, " " Recompense ; " of some of her stories in the Exami7ier, 
and elsewhere, "An Occurrence at Brownville," " From Cloistered 
Walls." Miss Peterson is a native of California. One of her 
poems lately appeared in the Lippincott. As an example of her 
style is presented the following : 

THE INEFFABLE. 

I may not utter what the stars repeat 
And chime each to the other in the grey 



■^2b CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITERATURE. 

Of morning silences. I may not say 
Nor sing their harmonies; they are replete 
With majesty and might. Each living beat 
Of pulse of sea or land doth but betray 
A sympathy with them, and like a ray 
Of sacred light doth fall each song most sweet 
Upon my heart, and trembling, nestleth there. 
Were it mine to give the world as purely 
As they are sent from out the changing dawn, 
Those messages and melodies of prayer. 
Mortal eyes would gaze and lips say, "Surely, 

She is one of those whom God hath smiled upon ! " 

— Ina L. Peterson. 

Genevieve Lucille Browne has also contributed verses to the 
Wave. Miss Browne is a newcomer to the cit}^, but is assistant 
editor ot the Californian Magazine and is a verse writer of great 
promise. 




f^ERDirlGS Ff^Om CflLilFOf^rHflN POETS. 

18Q3. 

Compiled by Edmund Rufsell. 

POBUISHER: 

WilUnm Doxey. 

SHLiHCTIOflS FROM 

Seddie E. Anderson, John Vance Cheney, Ina Coolbrilh, Captain Jack Craw- 
ford, Ella Sterling Cummins, Rollin M. Daggett, Emma Frances Dawson, Lucivs 
Harwood Foote, Joseph T. Goodman, Bret Barte, Sarah Edwards Henshaw, Nathan 
C. Kouns, Emitie Lawson, Charles Edwin Markham, Adah Isaacs Menken, Joaquin 
Miller, Daniel O'Connell, Annie S. Page, Charles Henry Phelps, Ina liUian Peterson, 
Edward Pollock. Alice E. Pratt, Richard Realf, Charles H. Shinn, MlUicent W. 
Shinn, Lillian Hinmon Shuey, Edward Rowland Sill, Lorenzo Sosso, Charles Warren 
Stoddard, Annie Lake Townsend, Clarence TJrmy, Mculge Morris, Josephine WulcotI, 
B. P. Avery, Kate M. Bishop, J. F. Bowman, Anna M. Fitch, Irene Hardy, W. A. 
Kendall, Anna Morrison Reed, Hiram Hoyt Richmond, John R. Ridge, M. B. M. 
Toland, C. H. Webb, Carrie Stevens Walter, Virna Woods. 

This collection of poetry grew out of a studio-evening de- 
voted to Californian writers of verse. Most of the readings were 
new to those present, and as it was found that no collected rep- 
resentation had been made for more than twenty years, the reader, 
Edmund Russell, began to study up the literature of California 
as it appeared in the files of the different journals and magazines, 
and also in volumes. As a result, this collection was decided 
upon, with Mr. Doxey as publisher. "It would seem," says 
Mr. Russell, the compiler, " that perhaps no other State in the 
Union could show more original and dramatic power. The glory 
of the eschscholtzia, the wierdness of the madrone, the grandeur of 
the unsurpassable redwoods, the awe of the desert mescal, blos- 
som into strange verse that can belong only to the Pacific Coast 
— to California." 



328 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

This is the most important addition to our literature for 
years, in that it has culled the best along the way, and in this form 
preserved many poems which otherwise would be scattered and 
impossible to find a few years from now. The table of contents 
is an admirable one, and the poems beautifully arranged with 
appropriate head lines from some other writer. 

It is not inappropriate that Mr. Russell should have been the 
compiler, inasmuch as his name appears in the files of Somers' 
California7i Magazine as far back as 1881, as a contributor of 
verse, where he first became interested in Californian writers and 
has since made a study of Californian poetry. As a result of this 
study, this volume appears, which will give the world outside a 
better idea of the Californian literary status than any other one 
volume which has been presented to the public. 




.£^ 



PICTURESQUE CALtipOt^HlA. 

1888. 
Edited by John Muir. 

POBLxISHERS: 

The J. Dewing Company. 

COflTRISUTOf^S : 

Joaquin Miller, George Hamlin Fitch, William Bartlett, John Vance Cheney, 
Joseph Le Conte, Charles Frederick Holder, Theodore Van Dyke, Kate Field. 

ARTISTS : 

Thomas Hill, William Keith, C. D. Robinson, Ernst Narjot, Julian Rix, 
Thomas Moran, Hamilton Hamilton, S. J. Ferris, F. 0. C. Darley, Harry Fenn, J. 
S. King and many others. 

Very beautiful are these volumes of the " Picturesque Cali- 
fornia," devoted also to the region west of the Rocky mountains, 
from Alaska to Mexico. The illustrations are superb and in 
every way it is creditable to the coast. It is not of such histor- 
ical value as the Bancroft Histories, as it contains merely descrip- 
tive writing ; but it is like a portfolio of beautiful views, adapted 
to delighting the eye and the imagination. 

The proof editions are magnificent specimens of the art of 
book-making, while the photogravures and etchings appear on the 
finest India paper, artistically mounted. 

Of this work George Hamlin Fitch says : 

A work so comprehensive as this will give to Eastern readers for the first 
time a satisfactory idea of the wonderful grandeur, beauty and variety of Cali- 
fornia scenery. Its illustrations will form a picture gallery of the superb natural 
features of the slope. 

In the sheets that have appeared we would call special attention to Emer- 
ald lake, in the Sierras, which is printed in green, and to a glimpse of old Carmel 
Mission, which forms the vignette to the article on Monterey, and which is 



330 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITERATURE. 

printed in the tawny hue tliat the Carmel valley wears during the greater part of 
the year. A photogravure by the new process, which is especially worthy of 
note, IS that of Midway point, on the drive at Monterey, from a fine painting by 
Kix. There is an etching of Moran's "Half Dome in the Yosemite" that is 
exquisite in its skillful handling of light and shade. The wood-cuts are also 
uncommonly well done by the engravers, who are so well known by their work 
in the best American magazines. 

Muir's description of the great fall of the Yosemite is perhaps as good an 
example as could be selected of his power of painting a picture in words, and of 
the patient observation and skillful search that bring to him every secret of 
Nature. 

This description, worthy of Kuskin in its power of bringing the scene 
before the mind's eye of the reader, is beautifully illustrated by a i:)hotogravure 
from a painting of the falls by C. D. Robinson. This is a triumph of the new 
process of reproducing paintings, as it preserves with a fidelity which can scarcely 
be believed without seeing it all the salient features of the picture. The down- 
rushing masses of foam, the shadow cast on the great cliff, even the huge pines 
that are thrown into silhouette against the somber cliffs at the base of the falls- 
all are brought out with remarkable clearness and power. 

Thus far this is the first illustrated work on the Pacific Coast that is 
worthy of the scenery it represents. Its strongest claim to support is that it 
gives the Eastern reader who has been unable to see the wonders of California 
an adequate conception of the grandest scenery in the world, while the descrip- 
tions and sketches will furnish an idea of the resources of the Pacific Slope — a 
region which is still underrated by most Eastern people. 

— George Hamlin Fitch. 



Wi 




•^T 






fgff^ 



THt^EE POEms. 

(Received loo late for classification.) 
Wallace Bruce, W. 0. Dickson, Elizabeth Chamberlain Wright. 

Around the camp-fire iu the grand valley of the Yo Semite, 
with the great moon looking over the cliffs at us, the following 
poem was recited with wonderful effect. After two years I have 
succeeded iu obtaining a copy of the poem, which is by Wallace 
Bruce. It is here presented that it may be preserved. 

YO SEMITE. 

Waiting to-night for the moon to rise 

O'er the clifl's that narrow Yo Semite's skies; 

Waiting for darkness to melt away 

In the silver light of a midnight day; 

Waiting, like one in a waiting dream, 

I stand alone by the rushing stream. 

Alone in a temple vast and grand. 
With spire and turret on every hand ; 
A world's cathedra], with walls sublime, 
Chiseled and carved by the hand of time ; 
And over all heaven's crowning dome, 
Whence gleam the beacon lights of home. 

The spectral shadows dissolve, and now 
The moonlight halos El Capitan's brow. 
And the lesser stars grow pale and dim 
Along the sheer-cut mountain rim ; 
And, touched with magic, the gray walls stand 
Like phantom mountains on either hand. 

Yet I know they are real, for I see tlie spray 

Of Yo Semite Fall in the moonlight play. 

Swaying and trembling, a radiant glow. 

From the sky above to the vale below ; , 

Like the ladder of old, to Jacob given, 

A line of light from earth to heaven. 



CAl.lKOKNIAN NVRlTKKS AND LITKKATUKE 

Anil thon? ivmos to n\y soul a vision dear. 
As of shininj; spirits hovorinsi' near; 
And 1 ttH»l tho swoot anil wondtMOUs power 
Of a pivsenoo that tills tho undnigl\t hour; 
And 1 know that IVthol is ovorvwhero. 
For prayer is the foot of the angel stair. 

A light dovino, a holy rest. 

Floods all tho valley and tills n\y hreast ; 

Tho very movmtains aro hushed in sloop 

From Easile l*oii\t to Sentinel Keep ; 

And a lite-long lesson is taught nio to-night, 

Wiien shrouded in shadow, to wait for the light. 

Waiting at dawn for the morn to hreak. 
By the crystal waters of Mirror Lake ; 
Waiting to see tho niountains gray 
Clearly detinod in the light of day, 
RetUvttHl and throneil in glory here. 
A lakelet that seems but tho valley's tear. 

"Waiting — but lookl The Soiuh IVme bright 

Is floating now in the sea of light : 

And Oloud'r Rest, glistening with oaps of snow, 

lnvertt\l stands in tho vale below, 

With tow'ring peaks and olitls on high 

Hanging to moot another sky. 

O orystal gem in setting rare I 
O soul-like mirror in middle air! 
O forest heart of eternal love. 
Karth-born. but pure as heaven above ! 
This 8;\bbath m(!»rn we tind in thoo 
Tho poet's dream of purity. 

The hours pass by ; 1 am waiting now 
On (tlaoier Point's o'erhanging brv^w ; 
Waiting to see the yneture pass. 
Like the tUn^ting show of a wiKutl glass; 
Waiting — and still the vision stvms 
\Voven of light atxd ivloixnl with drtnims. 

l>ut the oloud-oappi\l towers, and pillars gray, 

Stxnirely stju\d in the light of day ; 

Tho temple wall is tirm and sure. 

The worshippers pass, hut it shall endure. 

And will, while loud Yo Semite calls 

To bright Nevada and \ernal Falls. 



THRKK POKMS. 

O grand aiul majestic organ choir, 

\VitI\ deop tonoil voices that never tire I 

O anthem written in notes that gUnv 

On the rainbow bars of To-lio-no ! 

O sweet Te rnum forever sung, 

With spray, like incense, lieavenward swung. 

Thy music my soul with rapture thrills, 

And there comes to my lips "the templed hills, 

Thy rocks and rills " — a nation's song. 

From valley to mountain born along : 

My countrv's temple, built for thee I 

Crowned with the Cap of Liberty. 

O country reaching from shore to shore; 

O fairest land the wide world o'er ; 

Columbia dear, whose mountains rise 

From fertile valley's to sunny skies. 

Stand tirm and sure, and hold and free, 

As thv jjranite-walled Yo Semite. — Wallace Bruce. 



At the last tuoment I have received a poem written by Eliza- 
beth Chamberlain Wright, who wrote under the names of "Topsy 
Turvy," and " Carrie Carlton," and whose picture may be seen 
in the Golden Era School, page 31. It was written only a short 
time before she died, and is so similar to that other celebrated 
poem beginning " If I Should Die To-night," that it is no wonder 
that the latter should be credited to her. But of the two, the 
poem by Mrs. Chamberlain-Wright is the stronger and more 
vigorous. It is here presented. 

WHEN 1 AM PKAl). 

When you are dead and lying at rest 

With your white hands folded above your breast — 

Reautiful hands, too well I know. 

As white as the lilies, as cold as the snow, 

I will come and bend o'er your marble form, 

Your ciild hands cover with kisses warm. 

And the words I will speak and the tears I will shetl 

Will tell 1 have loveil you — when you are dead I 

When you are dead your name shall rise 
From the dust of the earth to the very skies, 
And every voice that has sung your lays 
Shall wake au echo to sound your praise. 



334 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Your name shall live through the coming age 
Inscribed on Fame's mysterious page, 
'Neath the towering marble shall rest your head, 
But you'll live in memory — when you are dead ! 

Then welcome, Death! thrice welcome be! 

I am almost weary waiting for thee ; 

Life gives no recompense — toil no gain, 

I seek for love and I find but pain ; 

Lily white hands have grown pale in despair 

Of the warm red kisses which should be their share. 

Sad, aching heart has grown weary of song, 

No answering echo their notes prolong ; 

Then take me, Oh, Death, to thy grim embrace ! 

Press quickly thy kiss on ray eager face. 

For 1 have been promised, oli, bridegroom dread. 

Both Love and Fame — when 1 am dead! 

— Elizabeth Chamberlain Wright. 

("Carrie Carlton," "Topsy Turvy." See Golden Era School.) 

A man of singular gifts of mind was the late Wm. O. Dick-son 
of Alameda. He was Principal of one of the schools, con- 
tributor to the press, a scholar of the classics, and a student of 
psychic science. As an example of the thoughtful cast of mind, 
the following poem is quoted : 



A struggle to death, with the problem of life — 
A life that at best was a turbulent strife — 
While battling with theory, science and art, 
Refusing assent to each time-rusted part 
Of dogmatic creed, or fossilized thought, 
Save where reason supreme its truthfulness taught ; 
Not needing, nor asking, on help to depend. 
But taking for motto — " To stand by a friend ! " 

Such had all the years left, 
And work just begun ; 

Of fear now bereft, 

The first victory 's won. 

For despondence, too buoyant ; for dullness, too gay ; 
Well balanced for study, and yet, when each day 
Left its mark in the brain and its trace on the brow 
A thought still persisted in saying that "Thou, 



THREE POEMS. 335 

Who pridest thyself on advancement each hour 

Art a fool in thy learning, and know'st not the power 

Of Psyche, thy soul ! " 
What will wake the lost chord? — 

'Twas in vain through the years to seek for the word. 
Thus on, on she slumbered, 

Nor once saw the light. 
With care unencumbered, 
Deep-buried in night. 

O, Psyche, sleep on ! nor wake from thy rest. 
And though in thy waking the life may be blest 
By the union of sympathy, binding each heart. 
It may also be cursed — be pierced by the dart 
Unfaithfulness hurls, all envenomed with hate. 
Then slumber, thou Psyche, nor care — 
Hark ! 
Swelling o'er the silent sleeper 

Like a strain through echoing halls, 
Growing stronger, moving deeper. 
Comes a voice that erst enthralls 
By its sympathetic sweetness. 

Softness, purity of tone ; 
Breathing in its clear completeness 

More than melody alone. 
'Twas a voice, so deeply stirring, 

That it spoke unto the soul, 
Telling, while its boon conferring, 

Of a nature's sweet control 
Pure as dew on lily petals, 

Soft with sympathy and love ; 
Coming like the twilight settles. 

Like it — star-gemmed from above. 
Wakened, held, with passion glowing, 

Thrilling with an untried life. 
Psyche rouses, half unknowing 
Whether rest it is — or strife. 
F'ear thou not ! Doubt Ihou not ! Spirit of Power. 
Life is thine! Love is thine! Thine every hour! 

— William 0. Dickson. 



FICTION, DRAOIR R|MD miSCELiU A|MEOUS. 

DRnmATlSTS R^D UIBRETTISTS: 

(Viif/ Al. Gnen, Archibald 0. Hunter, Pan O'Vonnell, Peter Robertson, Heniy 
Guy Carleton, Qeor^e Jes^^op, Mrs. HomuaMo Pacheco. 

FlCTlOJM : 

Bret Ilarte, Mark l\rain, A. C. Gunter, Sichard Henry Saixtge, Ambrose 
Bieree, ./chk/ium Miller, Gertrude Frtinklin Athertoti, Kate Ihuglass Tripsin. 

AUTHORS : 

(ONK OK TWO VOLX'MKS.) 

John fraidlin Suifl, W. H. Rhodes, RoUin M. Dappett, Sam Daik, Mill S. 
Greene, C. C. GihHiuin, Hem-y R. Mighels, Freil 11. Hart, I?an de QuiUe [ WiUiam 
Wriyht), W. C. Morrow, C. French Richards, William Simpson, James Doixin, Fmnk 
H. Pon-ers. 

WOMEfl AUTHORS : 

^ONK OK TWO VOLVMKS.) 

RoHTiM Gnxniee Steele, Mrs. Romualdo Pacheco, May Wentuvrth, Carrie Carl- 
ton, Laurn Preston, Anna M. Pitch, Annie Lake lownsend, Elta Sterling Cwmnins, 
Mary Willis GlassctKly Flora Haines Apponyi, Frances F. I'ictor, Josephine Clifford 
McCixieken, Alice Kinysbury-Cooley, Louise Battles Cooper, Ada L. HaUtead, Elisa 
0, Birkmaier, 2^'ellie Blessing lister, Mrs. C. Stere-ns, Fmma Wolf. 

POETRY R^lD VERSE: 

(ONK OK TWO VOLUMES.) 

Ikhvani A. Pollock, Edu\v\i Rouiand Sill, Charles Wanyn Sioiidard, Ina D. 
iy>olhrith, John Yanct Cheney, Dan O' Council, John Ridge, James I^inen, B. P. 
Avtry, Lucius H. Fbote, Fmnk Norris, Clarence Urmy, Richard E. }\'hite, Fmnk- 
Stetcwt, J. D. Stale, Albert Ke^\'he^\^l, George Homer Meyer, Lorenzo Sosso. 

POETRY Rl^lD VERSE: 

Clarn G. DoUiirr, Virna Woods, Lillian H. Shuey, Carrie Stearns Waber,, 
Madge Morris Wagner, Amie S. I\ux, Alice E, Pratt, Maiy Lambert, Mrs. M. B.M. 
Toland, Eila Fen-e ^^UaniMh B. Gage'), Saiwh Ednxuxts Hettskatc, Josephine Walcott. 



MICTION, DKAI\1A ANP M ISCKUl.ANKOUS. 337 

HISTORY : 
H. H. liancrqft, Theodoif H. HUtdl. 

POUlTtCAU ECONOIWY: 

l!<iiri/ d' (•(>(•(/«•. 

HUlVtOR n^D TRRVEU : 
(?<•())•<;<• H. Dahi/, ,/. /ulw liroinu; Churl,;t No'-dhoff. 

PHIIjOSOPHY, SCIE^JCE and REFEREfiCE : 

tToseph Le Conie, Charles Fredei-ic Bolder, Alex Del Mar, P)-enlie.e Mul/ord, 
Oeorpe Daridson, Charles Houwd Shinn, John S. Hittetl, Oscar Sliiiek; Adieij H. 
Oummins, Francis lilackbuni, Frederick Hacked, John Sweti, l\ol>er( IT. Murphy. 

OllSCEliUAr^EOUS: 

W. C. Bartlett, Rer. AljWd Vehr Mehr, T. A. Rarni, A. Dehuw, Alexander 
Del Mar, William Jhivis Heath,- William Writjht, Robert W. Murphji, Alexander 
Badlam, Jtremiah Li/nch. 

The writers of volumevS who are not otherwise classified 
under the titles of the different jonrnnls and niaga/ines will here 
be sketched briefly. The nnmbers have increased so that it is 
impossible to do justice to these different volumes, and a blank 
page will be left at the end of this division to be marked " Un- 
known Authors," that no one may feel that he is omitted for any 
reason save that he has not made himself known. 

After Bret Harte, Mark Twain and Joaquin Miller, the 
greatest addition to the fiction written by Californians has been 
made by Archibald Clavering Gunter. While there are those 
who claim that there are no Californian writers, yet there has 
arisen in the atmosphere of San Francisco, particularly, a school 
of active literary workers whose first efforts were produced here, 
and who thereby have become identified with the State of Cali- 
fornia. In order to make of literature or dramatic writing a suc- 
cess they have been compelled to leave the shores of .the Pacific 
and carry their wares to the Eastern markets. But the brain 
with which they produced these works has been originally de- 



338 



CALIFORNIA N WRITKKS AND I.ITERATURK. 



veloped in the atmosphere of San I'Vaiicisco. As Arthur McK wen 
says of Mark Twain : " He got his point of view here." 

When a child Archibald C. Gunter came to California and 
attended the i)ublic schools of San Francisco, in which city he 
grew to manhood. The first successful work of a literary nature 
with which he was connected was a drama, entitled "Two Nights 
in Rome." Tliiswas a surprise to the theater-goers of San Fran- 
cisco — a rich, glowing pict- 
ure, through which setting 
\ivid characters passed, 
each closely woven into the 
plot and containing a sus- 
tained concerted action 
which never allowed the in- 
terest to flag. Besides it 
was a study of human na- 
ture. Perhaps " U i p 1 o - 
niacy" had suggested some- 
thing in the treatment of 
the dialogue, but it was all 
the better for that. I re- 
member that we were 
charmed with the play, and 
thought it an achievement 
that a San Franciscan could 
produce a drama that should even l)e classed or compared with 
" Forget-Me-Not " and "Diplomacy." Next followed "The 
Soul of an Actress," which was presented for the first time to 
any audience by Clara Morris, and was most respectfully spoken 
of by the critics, though it was considered too much of a stud)' to 
suit the i>opular taste. 

After this, like all Californians who wish to better themselves 
and attain success in this field, Mr. Giuiter took his way East. 
"Fresh, the American," "Strictly lUisine.ss " and "Prince 
Karl" are the names of three comedies which Mr. Giuiter suc- 
cessfully produced. Then there came a great stirring of the "dry 
bones " when the novel "Mr. Harnes of NeAv York" made its 
appearance. It was not founded on the high literary plane ot his 




mii.M.D ci .\viKiN(, c.i ni"i;k. 



I'lCTlON, DUAMA AND M ISCIU.I-A N IvOl'S. 339 

first two ilrainas, hut oxicU-iitly Mr. Gutiter liad resolved to suc- 
ceed. And lie had discoveied that the "high plane" goes a 
begging. Of this I'lrst novt.! of his. many stories of his wonderful 
business enterprise are told. In analyzing his work, Gertrude 
iMatdclin Atherton says in the Cosinof>o/i((i>i : 

Altli()Uf?li Mr. (iiintiT luiikcH no cluiiii to literary eloniiiue, few iiccom- 
pliNhed writers Imve written such a rattlinf? good story as " Mr. Karnes of New 
York " or ncliioveil a more remarkable Miecess. His books have l)een on every 
stand in thri'(> continents wiiere our litnfj;Maf!;e is read, and by a bir^fe proportion of 
the reiidin;; pul)lic iibroiid ht* is rcf^ardcd as tlie ri'|ir('sciil:iliv»' V hum lean aiitimf. 

The same dtiiiand lollowed lor "Mr. I'olter of Texas," 
"That I'^reiu^hman," and his other works as the>' eanie out in 
(piick succession. 'iMic sl>le grew rather jerky, in order to kee]> 
the mind of the reader up to llu' highest j)itc>h of exeitemeid, hnl 
it was a reaction from the long-diawn out mouotoue of the usiud 
novel, and served its piupose well. Away out in the outskirts of 
civilization, in Ari/.()tia, in Modoc Cotudy, California, in the 
places cut off from the great stream, these volumes come in like a 
freshening hree/.e to these lives of hopeless nu)notou\-. I have 
seen Iheiii hiiiig ;i /.est and spaikle ot lilr (hat was of itself suf- 
ficient reward to the author. He who entertains the l)rain-wear>' 
and the heavy-hearted, making them forget themselves, even for 
one brief hour, \eril\', his naiui' shoidd he placed near nidt) lU-n 
Adhem's 

Richard I leiuy Savage is another , San iManciscan who grew 
up in the pul)lic> schools and graduated in the long ago. He 
tried his 'prentice hand on the old (iohhn l\ra as far back as 
1.S61, and always had a facility in the use of the pen, writing 
prose and poetry for the .hxonaii/, C/nonit/r, .Innv a)id Navy 
/lynrnal, N. V. Herald, Cosniofwlilan, and West Point Scrap- 
Book. For the Call, Post and lltdltlin he wrote under the name 
of " 'i\)m Hurke." Besides these articles he has always been 
active in writing political speeches, diplomatic, scieidific, legal 
and oflicial tlocuments, and general ht'l/cs/ii/rcs. 

In 1868 he graduided in law from West Toint. atid has been 
identified with the San iMancisco Bar and also that of New York. 
His military record is exten.sive, relating both to the National 



340 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Guard and regular army, and including also the Egyptian army. 
His civil record also embraces a number of honorable positions, 
notably that of Vice- Consul to Rome. 

But this would represent very little if it were not that 
Mr. Savage, one day, out of the fullness of his thousand and 
one experiences in Europe, Egypt and America, resolved to 
write a novel. The title of his novel was "My Official Wife." 
While it was decided h^ French}' in some particulars in its vim 

and go, 5'et it was so 
lifted out of the un- 
wholesome and fetid 
atmosphere of French 
literature bj^ the 
heartiness of the 
American Colonel, the 
hero of the story, that 
it was refreshing and 
attractive to the most 
critical taste. After- 
wards dramatized by 
Archibald C. Gunter, 
this American spirit 
of wholesomeness was 
still so preserved that 
the play was a de- 
light. Other books have followed in succession and have been 
popularly received. But that malady of style, of striving for 
continual climax upon every page, has crept into his later works, 
spoiling the enjoyment of the story. "The lyittle Lady of 
Daguinitas " and "Prince Schamyl's Wooing " are marred by 
this defect. Of the latter book the Berlin Post says, in regard to 
the subject of which it treats: "It is the best semi-political 
novel of the past ten years." And it is considered in German, 
Austrian and Russian higher circles "as an accepted diplomatic 
prophecy." 

" My Official Wife" was translated into French, German, 
Swedish and Italian, and is now in its tenth American edition, 
in its eighth English and seventh German editions. This record 




RICHAKH in:.\KV SAVAGE. 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCEI.LANEOUS. 



341 



surpasses all his previous achievements in military, legal or civil 
procedure. There is now such a demand for his novels that the 
mere announcement of a new one is sufficient to call forth a 
demand of 30,000 on the first day it is out of the press. This 
has been the case with his last book, "The Masked Venus ; a 
Story of Many Lands. ' ' Like the others, it is intensely interest- 
ing and wrought upon the dramatic design throughout. It deals 
with camp, court and society, and is full of that thrilling incident 
and sparkling dialogue with which Mr. Savage is so well 
acquainted from his own personal experiences. 

In contrast to the preceding work is the fiction of Ambrose 
Bierce, elsewhere referred to in detail. It is all polished and 
sculptured and elegant in literary style, and treats of the weird, 
the uncanny and the satiric. In collaboration with Gustav 
Adolph Danziger he has produced one work that is beautiful and 
heart-touching, that of " The Monk and the Hangman's 
Daughter." Mr. Danziger is also engaged in heavy literary 
labors, and from the promise of the story above mentioned, may 
be one to add to the beautiful in our literature. 

It has been asserted that California is lacking in children of 
genius, because of those who 
have achieved anything none 
are Californian born. And 
Mr. Bierce has attempted to 
explain this fact by his state- 
ment that the early population 
of California did not belong 
to the "genius-bearing sex." 
Whoever else has been im- 
ported and educated in order 
to keep up the supply, there 
is no doubt about Clay Mere- 
dith Greene. He may wan- 
der the earth over, but he is a 
Californian still, for he has it 
placed on record that he was 
born in San Francisco— the first child born of American parents. 

I should like to do justice to the sketch of Mr. Greene ; 




CLAY MKREniTH GRKENE. 



342 CA.LIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

indeed, there are no letters in my great letter- book of writers 
half so delightful as those which, by dint of infinite patience 
and continued effort, I have obtained most unwillingly from our 
Californian dramatist who now dwells in the East. His response 
has been that he does not feel that he has yet produced anything 
great enough to be chronicled. Having been hampered by the 
taste of the public, and being only the servant of the public, 
until lately, he has been compelled to build up constructions most 
uncongenial to himself But having at last reached a position 
where he is independent of the sordid side of art, he hopes now 
to weave some of the fancies of his brain and shape unrestricted 
and unfettered. 

The industry.of Mr. Greene, however, is deserving of men- 
tion, to say nothing of his work from an artistic and dramatic 
point of view. He is a hard worker. His brain responds to the 
demands made upon it, whether congenial or not. For years he 
has been studying the intricacies of the art of dramatic writing. 
Some of these plays written to order to suit some specialty artist, 
so called, have not been remarkable, it is true ; j^et there has not 
been one which has not served its purpose in entertaining or amus- 
ing the public for its brief hour, with a wholesome and refreshing 
influence. Whatever other crimes Mr. Greene may have to 
answer for, it cannot be said that he has ever revenged himself 
on the public for its lack of artistic appreciation b}- pandering to 
its lowest tastes His border dramas are clean and wholesome, 
if they do deal with the "wild and woolly West," and always 
contain clever studies of human nature, which require the 
highest kind of literary art. 

The names of his best-known plays are as follows : " M'liss, " 
"Golden Giant," " Forgiven," " The Chinese Question," " Dub- 
lin lyights," " Blue Beard Jr. ," "Our Jennie," " The Deadwood 
Stage," " lyast Days of Pompeii." 

In collaboration he has written, " Freaks of Fortune," "An 
April Fool," " Nora Machree," "Struck Oil," "Gabriel Conroy,' 
" Under the Polar Star," " Pawn-ticket 210," " Caught in a Cor- 
ner," " Lord Drummersy." 

About to be produced are : " For Money," for W. H. Crane ; ■ 
a drama for Joseph Grismer ; " The Maid of Plymouth," an opera 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCELLANEOUS, 



343 



for Ivillian Russell (lately produced); "The Filibuster," an 
opera for the Tillotson Opera Compan}- ; " The Three Graces," a 
comedy for Charles Frohman ; " The Cuban Conspiracy," "The 
Widow Anaes," a comedy, and others not yet named. 

Industry should have its reward. It is to be hoped that Mr. 
Greene will live to produce the play of his heart ; that his physical 
strength will enable him to continue to make demands upon those 
creative instincts of his brain ; that he may attain a position at 
the top of the ladder of fame, from which he can glance down at 
the public without bitterness, and acknowledge that those whole- 
some and refreshing little plays of his taught him his art. 

Among the first of the women writers of California was 
Mrs. Roniualdo Pacheco, who published a novel entitled "Montal- 
ban. ' ' In the reviews upon 
this work it was said that 
the dramatic possibilities 
of the novel were great. A 
few years after Mrs. Pa- 
checo tried her hand upon 
a society plaj^ and finally 
upon a comedy farce— the 
first, so it is said, written 
by a woman. This has 
<:ontained such ingredients 
of humor and refined wit 
and grotesqueuess that it is 
being played continually by 
a stock company, with no 
sign of the interest abating. 
' ' Incog ' ' is the name of 
the play, and once seen can ''''^- ^omualdo pacheco. 

never be forgotten. "Nothing but Money" followed shortly after 
and was accorded a similar success. There are those who main- 
tain that the latter play is the cleverer of the two ; that the wit is 
keener and more Damascus-like. It is a pleasant thought that 
California should produce the first woman dramatist who excels 
in humor, and that her work should be of such a high order, 
containing wit that is clever and sparkling and vivid. 




^44 CAl.n-ORNIAN WKITKKS ANP l.ITKKATVRK 

It is almost impossible to classify Daniel O'Comiell uiider 
tlu- heading- ami banner ot" any one jonrnal or magazine, for the 
reason that he belongs to all. The page of the California^ 
Si\^RV oi" Tui: I'li.KS is brightened and beantified by the touch 
of Mr. OConnell's pen. fiis indnstry alone is sufficient to 
waken surpiise. livery Christmas or holiday issue bears some 
quaint, grotesque or poetical number tVoni his fancy and creative 
instinct. In addition to these, he has written a number of 
dramas. .n\d lately turned his attention to libretto-writing with 
gre.U success. 

Paniel O' Council was born in Countv Clare, Ireland, iu 
1S40. He came to California in iSoS from the English navy, 
where he was serving as midshipman. He became Professor of 
/•r/Aw /(-ffcrs in the College of Santa Clara, and afterward held 
a professorship of Greek in St. Tgiuitins College of San Fran- 
cisco. He then became connectc*.! with journalism, writing for 
all the San Franciso.^ jounuils. and acting successively as editor 
of the .1/.>/7;;;/i^> H(t\iht San Francisco Times, the Bulltthi, the 
Chronicle, the Wasp, the Bohemian, and that wonderfully excel- 
lent, but short-lived paper, inaugurated by J. M. l^assett, called 
the Porti,\\ 

Mr. O'Dounell etiited " Caxtou's Book." and wrote admir- 
able stories for the Ovtrhitiii, especially the one entitled " Thrust 
and Tierce. ■■ " The Red Fox " was an Irish play successfully 
pixxluced iu San FYaucisco and elsewhere. ' ' The Conspiracy 
was written for Kmelie Melville. The grotesque stories of the 
Christmas issues have l>ceu mostly of the serio-comic aristocrats 
whose claim to greatness c^Misists of owning a goat and a shanty 
upon the sandhills of San bVancisco. 

The volume of jx>clry entitlcvi '■ Lyrics'" by Paniel OCou- 
nell contains the genuine article. 1 never enjoyetl^thc reading 
of any poem more than when the l>eautiful young daughter of 
Mr. O'Conncll. who is appu^priately iiameil Gipsy, showed me 
her lather's poem entitled "Sing Me a Ringing Anthem." and 
read it over for me in a simple, earnest way that spoke of her 
pride in her tathers literary work. The poem is here quoted : 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCKIJvANKOUS. 345 

SINO ME A KlNtilNO ANTHKM. 

Sing n\e a ringing anthoni 

Of tlio deeds ot" the buried past, 
Wlien the ^lol•senmn brave dared tlie treaeherous wave 

And hiughed at the iey bhist. 

And till uie a brinuuing beaker 

Of the rieh l^urginidian wine, 
That the ehill of years with its ehain of tears 

May unbind from this breast of mine ; 

For working and watehing and waiting 

Make the blood nni sluggish and cold, 
And I long for the lire and the lieroe desire 

That burned in the hearts of old. 

1 ean dream of the fountains plashing, 

In tlie soft still summer's m'ght, 
And of smothered sighs and of woman's eyes, 

And ripe lips, ruddy and bright. 

• But better the tempests fury 

With its thunders and howling wind, 
And better to dare what the future may bear. 
Than to muse on what lies behind. 

Then chant me no tender love-song, 

With its sweet and low refrain. 
But sing of the men of tlie sword and tl»e pen, 

Whose deeds may be done again. — Daniel O'Contu-ll. 

Very successfully piocluced was the comic opera entitled 
" Bluff King Hal," for which the music was composed by Hum- 
phry J. Stuart. Mr. O'Conuell's lyrical gift came into full play 
in writing the libretto to this opera, and outside of the comic 
element and grace of the early English style of dialogue, were 
some exquisite sentiments and felicitous expressions in the songs, 
a point that is rarely made in comic opera, But this is really 
the excelling quality of Mr. O'Connell's genius. 

There are few songs containing such a depth of genuine 
feeling as that expressed in " Love Kndureth After Death," but 
the audience was so taken up with the funny business that the 
gem of the opera was not given its just due. But when I heard 
Donald de V. Graham sing that song, that night, as if he under- 
stood and comprehended the sentiment that O'Connell meant to 



346 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND 1.ITERATURE. 

convey, I felt thrilled, for it voices the grief of the human heart, 
and of the feeling of those who love their dead — a sentiment that 
is universal. The song is here quoted : 

LOVK ENDURETH AFTER DEATH. 

[ Leonard is about to be captured and put to death by the King's men. Phyllis, his love, comes to 
warn him. In the shadow of the parting she asks if his love will continue, and then follows the 
song in which both voices blend in the refratn.] 

Doubt tliat streams through forest flowing 

Kiss in sands the yearning sea. 
Doubt the stars at noontime glowing, 

Doubt the stars, but doubt not me. 

He/rain. 
Love shalt live lor aye and ever, 

Stream and wood and zephyrs breath. 
Murmur naught shall love dissever, 

Love endureth after death, 

Love endureth after death. 

Phyllis, Solo. a 

Say those dear words o'er and over 

'Till the birds with carols sweet 
Fill the woodlands, and each lover 

To its mate their vows repeat. 

Bet'rain. 
Love shall live for aye and ever. 

Stream and wood and zephyrs breath. 
Murmur naught shall love dissever, 
Love endureth after death. 
Love endureth after death. 

— Daniel O'Connell. 

Henry Gu}- Carleton is one of the later California coterie who 
has achieved reputation in the East as a dramatist. Born in 
Texas, he grew up in California, attending the Santa Clara Col- 
lege and intending at first to enter the priesthood. He left his 
novitiate, however, and entered upon the busy life of the outer 
world as a journalist, writing for the Chronicle and other papers. 
He won a prize for his poem entered in the contest during the 
Centennial in 1S76 at Philadelphia. It is said that he varied his 
experiences by taking a turn at serving under Uncle Sam, being 
commissioned in the Fourth Cavalry of the Regular Army. Upon 
going to New York he returned to journalism and wrote for Life 



FICTION, DRAMA AND INIISCELLANEOUS. 



347 



and Other comic jouriiBls. "The Thompsou-street Poker Chib " 
and negro dialect stories were the contributions of Mr. Carleton. 
He then attained entry to the circles who gave recognition to 
his dramatic work, which has since given him great reputation. 
The best known and most romantic of his dramas is " The Lion's 
Mouth," a tragedy. 

IvVttleton Savage, a writer for the Argonaut back in the 
seventies, was born at Savage Station, Virginia, near Richmond. 
The battles of Malvern Hill and Seven Pines, I am told, were 
fought on his father's estate. Mr. Savage was a graduate of the 
University of Virginia. His verses and stories in the Argonaict 
were characterized by originality and delicacy of style. The 
titles ot some of his stories were as follows: "The Platonist," 
" Cavaliers," " The Story the Shell Told." Mr. Savage is now 
a well-known writer in the East. 

From the September number of Lippincotf s Magazine is 
quoted the following sketch of Gertrude Franklin Atherton, one 
of the best known of our Californian woman writers : 



The author of "The Doouiswoman" was born on Kincon liill, San Fran- 
oisoj), in a quarter since fallen from its former eminence and a house now 
propped on the edge of a "cut." In her blood were mingled opi)Osing streams 
from the older States— New England 
and Louisiana. She was reared by 
her grandfather, Stephen Franklin, a 
nephew of the famous Benjamin, out' 
of the pioneers of California, editor 
of its first paper, the Golden Era, ami 
a man of strong literary tastes. lie 
was counted the handsomest man in 
the State, and died in 1S89 at the age 
of eighty. From him Gertrude's in- 
ventive faculties received their early 
direction, and she made and told sto- 
ries long before she could put them 
on i)aper. "While at school she sup- 
plied her mates with original fiction, 
and at fifteen wrote a play which was 
acted at Benicia. Finishing her edu- 
cation at Lexington, Ky., she mar- 
ried into a leading Californian fam- 
ily, whise es'ates incluied the picturesque mission of San .\ntonio 




GKR RlUK FRANKMX ATHHRTON. 

Earlv 



348 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

widowed, she spent much time in travel, but in 1890 returned to her native]^State 
to study the primitive period — the prehistoric period, it might be called — of its 
career. For this purpose she took up her abode in old towns and hamlets and 
diligently cultivated the sad lingering remnant of the original Spanish settlers, 
aiming thus to gather material which had never before been utilized in Ameri- 
can literature. 

In saying that she values the fruits of these researches above her earlier 
works, we do not imply that Mrs. Atherton is or could be a dry and dusty chron- 
icler. The briefest glance at any of her pages would prove the contrary. But 
her romances are at least founded upon reality. Though her senores and donas 
died too soon to claim the privilege of her ?.cquaintance, she has come into close 
communion with them through their descendants, and mastered their traits and 
manners. So far are these from ours that she has found it best to soften rather 
than heighten the tints of her portraiture, and to select a hero and heroine far 
more serious and intellectual than most of their race. Unselected and unim- 
proved by contact with cooler heads, the native Californian was like her minor 
characters — a grown-up child, joyous, moody, frivolous, passionate, early mature 
in body, much the reverse in mind and spirit. Him, his belongings and his for- 
tunes, Mrs. Atherton has made her peculiar fleld, and in it she is unlikely soon 
to meet rivals. She counts "The Doomswoman" her truest work, and her read- 
ers are likely to agree with her. On this topic it is easy to write melodrama, 
bnt who else can present actual, vivid reality — the early Californians in their 
habits as they lived ? 

"The Doomswoman" goes back to the territory she has already made her 
own in "Los Cerritos" — to Spanish America. She has taken for her scene the 
earlier days of California, when it was still under Spanish rule, and has thus obtained 
a rich color and movement. It dwells in the memory like some picture of 
mediaival pageantry. She has painted her heroine from the inside, and given 
us a startliugly vivid presentation of the inner soul of a maid, with cunning in- 
sight into the weaknesses, the shy timidities, the inconsistencies, the all-surren- 
dering love, that hide themselves behind tlie proudest virginal exterior. In her 
hero she has made a daring attempt to enlist our sympathies in a real man, a 
man of strong passions, of many foibles, even stained with many crimes. And 
in a measure she succeeds. We yield up our sympathies, yet he never carries 
the same conviction of reality as the woman. So far as we believe in his exist- 
ence, we like the fellow. Yet in real life we wouldn't like him quite so well. 
Perhaps it is all the better, then, that he should not be too visibly realized by 
us. However, read the story. I think you'll like it. 

Mrs. Atherton deserves the commendation of all who respect 
industry and indefatigable devotion to one central idea. She 
never spares herself in studying up the backgrounds to her 
stories that they may be true. She is still a young woman, re- 
markable in her personality and in the poise of her mind, and out 
of her experience, having published already some four or five 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCELLANEOUS. 349 

novels, each peculiar of its kind, will yet write something that 
will live as a study of the best elements of Californian life. Her 
studies heretofore have taken her into the field of the abnormal — 
with the exception of that graceful tale, "Los Cerritos," where 
the young girl has fallen in love with a giant Sequora — but as 
time goes by she will doubtless see enough in the study of 
normal peculiarity to attract her, and then she will produce 
something great. "A Question of Time " deals with a phase of 
Californian life which is not yet acceptable to society — that of a 
rich woman marrying a man half her own age. 

Mrs. Atherton's style of writing is characterized by origi- 
nality and intensity. She is unconventional to the point of dar- 
ing. And yet, I maintain against the declaration of those who 
insist otherwise, that Mrs. Atherton has a deeper undercurrent of 
meaning in her novels than appears on the surface. The char- 
acter of " Chonita," as she is portrayed in the " Doomswoman," 
is an embodiment of early California. The lover is the man that 
has aflBliated with the incoming race and combines the qualities 
of both races, and it is a fratricidal conflict that finall}^ lifts her 
out of her superstition and gives her to the arras of the man she 
acknowledges as her conqueror. "Amidst the silence of moun- 
tain tops in a snow-storm ' ' is one of the felicitous images found 
in her sentences. A quotation is here made of the picturing 
power of Mrs. Atherton, which she possesses in a high degree : 

We were followed in a moment by the Governor, adjusting his collar and 
smoothing his hair. As he reached the doorway at the front of the house he was 
greeted with a shout from assembled Monterey. The plaza was gay with beam- 
ing faces and bright attire. The men, women and children of the people were 
on foot, a mass of color on the opposite side of the plaza, the women in gaudy 
cotton frocks girt with silken sashes, tawdry jewels and spottless camisas, the 
coquettish reboso draping with equal grace faces old and brown, faces round and 
olive, the men in glazed sombreros, short calico jackets and trousers, Indians 
wound up in gala blankets. In the foreground were caballeros and donas on 
prancing silver-trapped horses, laughing and coquetting, looking down in tri- 
umph upon the duenas and parents who rode older and milder mustangs and shook 
brown knotted fingers at heedless youth. The young men had ribbons twisted in 
their long black hair and silver eagles on their soft grey sombreros. Their 
velvet scrapes were embroidered with gold ; the velvet knee-breeches were laced 
with gold or silver chord over fine white linen ; long deer-skin botas were 
gartered with vivid ribbon ; flaunting sashes bound their slender waists, knotted 



;vso 



CAUKOKXIAN WKITKKS AND 1,1TKKATIKE. 



over the hip. The siirls and yovmsr luarritxi women wore black or wliito man- 
tillns, the silkou la^v of Sivtiu. rt\sr:»rvlles!; ot' the sun whioh luijjht darken their 
Castilian tairness. Tlioir gx^wns wt-rv ot" tlowerevi silk or rev! or yeUow satin, tfce 
waist Unig and pointtni. the skirt lull : jeweK\l buckles of tiny slippers tlasheil 
beuoath the hem. A tow Amorioans wore thert^ in the ugly garb of their country 
— {\ blot OH the piciuro. — (.» rt-'f-Mt/c / m» Win .4M<'j7t»M. 



There has been nothing Mn?. Athertoii has done which so 
well portrays her felioitons power in writing- as the sketch she 
wn:>te for the Cosfno/H^/ifaN in Xoveml^r, iSoi, upon the subject 
of " The Writers of California." It is a brief but vivid chapter. 
She covers over the ground admirably, and. with a few touches 
hete and there, the whole story is told. 

Very ditTerent in literar\- style is Kate Douglass Wiggiu. 
who also has found it necessary to seek the encouragement of the 
Kastern atmosphere. While she is not a native of Califoniia. yet 

her literary talent developed 
here while she was engaged in 
her kindergarten work, and 
she stayed with us as long as 
-he cculd. W" hen a very 
N oung girl. Mrs. Wiggin ^^theii 
Kate E. Smith'' was given the 
\ cry tirst kindergarten school 
established in San Francisco, 
for her to experiment on and 
see if there was any virtue in 
the system. As a result of 
her success with that initial 
etTort to r^ach the negleoteii 
children of the ix>or and ignor- 
ant, then? has been established 
a magniticent system of kinderg^artens — fifty-six separate schools 
— all carriei-i ot» by private aid. Her literary firstling was "The 
Story of Patsy." a touching account of one of the pitiful little 
creatures who came under her car^ in the kindergarten. She 
already had l^een a c\>ntributor to St AicMy/as and other period- 
icals, but "The Stor\- of Patsy " was written and printed to 
niise monev for the school, and not for her own benefit. Three 




KATK iHn'r.i,.\«s wtocix 



FICTION, PKAMA AND MlSCHl.l.ANKOUS. 35 1 

thousand copies were sold without the aid of a bookseller. " The 
Bird's Christmas Carol " was printed and sold tor the same pur- 
pose. 

Having married in the meantime and moved to New York in 
iSSS, away from her beloved kindergarten, Mrs. Wiggin began 
to tliink seriously of literary etTort. She submitted her two 
looks to Houghton ^c MiflUn. who issued them at once. These 
attained such immediate popularity that they were soon followed 
by "A Summer in a Canyon " and "Timothy's Quest." lu 
collaboration with her sister. Miss Nora Smith, Mrs. Wiggin has 
also issued " The Story Hour," for kindergartens and nurseries. 
The sale of her books has reached 23,000 copies. 

Mrs. Wiggin's writing lends itself delightfully to the needs 
of the elocutionist, as the elements of humor and pathos enter 
largely into her conceptions ot things. Kspecially is "The 
Bird's Christmas Carol " a tavorite of public readers, and the 
chapter about the " Ruggleses " was adapted and played in 
Cambridge by ten professors, who acted the parts of Mrs. Rug- 
gles and the nine little Ruggleses. 

Mrs. Wiggin herself is a charming reader of her stories and 
often gives parlor recitals for charity. All her literary work is 
characterized by sincerity and earnestness. And there is a con- 
stant demand for her stories from the best magazines and jour- 
nals. She is a great favorite in the circles of the Sf. Nicfio/as, 
which lately published some of her children's stories. But while 
representing ditTerent phases of human nature and insight into 
the working of the human heart. Mrs. Wiggin's work is not 
particularly Californian in its elements and constituency. She 
has only begxui her literary career, however, and may yet have 
in view some picturing of our laud that shall be vivid and strong, 
as well as in sympathy with the pathetic side of life. 

Of Mrs. Wiggin, Alice W. Rollins says : 

The delicate humor of her literary talent is one that would have found 
I'ood anvwliere in human nature, rather than in New Enghmd or Western 
nature; hut the pathos in her hooks, a pathos invariahly assoeiatcxl with tlie l>est 
lumior. has come largely tVoiu the keen ohservation, switt insight and ready 
sympathy whieh were required for her work among the poor, and wliii li. given 
tully, ivaped riehly, in experienees and intuitions as invaluable tor her artistic 
:is for her eharitahle eriort. 



35^ CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Among' the romances written by Californians, relating to 
another land than our own, is one entitled "Zauthou." It is a 
strange volume, containing a field of operation intimated rather 
than expressed, scarcely a novel, hardly a romance, certainly not 
an epic, and yet combining some of the features of all three. 
Those who like " Zanthon," like it very much ; those who can- 
not get over a page or two condemn it. For my part, I enjoyed 
reading "Zauthou" with a keen relish, because there was so 
much depth to the stor)^ because the pictures were so vivid, be- 
cause there were so many little touches of human nature in its 
warp and woof. No name is given to the countrj- in which the 
action takes place, but presently it begins to steal over one that 
this beautiful, wretched country in which live these ignorant and 
hopeless mortals must be Ireland. And then comes the potato 
blight and the famine, and the reader is in the midst of it, as if 
he were present, and beholding these scenes of wolfish despera- 
tion. But. then, only a few miles distant rise the walls and 
towers of ancient aristocrac}% and here no famine enters — all is 
good cheer and comfort. And then the reader begins to wonder 
if it may not be nearer home than Ireland that such discrepancies 
of justice occur. The central figure is the son of a patriot who 
has lost his life in an effort to free his country. He hides in this 
wretched village and endeavors to teach the people — to lift them 
out of their ignorance and superstition and to benefit them by his 
superior knowledge of tilling the crops and in showing them how 
to live. That he may become strongly identified with them he 
marries a peasant woman and rears his famih- and dwells among 
them. The study of the poverty that prevails, the horrors of the 
famine, the decimation of the man's family, the survival of but 
one child — the strongest — all these are simplj- told, and yet in a 
poetical strain that gives a hint of the epic tale of the earlier 
tribes of men. Little Zauthou survives under strange conditions. 
His first experience in tasting bread is so strange to us that we 
cannot comprehend it. But to a seven-year-old who had just 
come out of a famine and beheld bread for the first time it was a 
sensation. 

The bread given to Zanthon l\v Big Nanov had been taken from the oven 
about midnight. Fresh and palatable, it emitted that rich llavor peculiar to 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCELLANEOUS. 353 

bread when made by efficient workmen. To the senses of the boy it was de- 
licions. It tilled the whole atmosphere around him with an odor whose delicacy 
and sweetness appeared to equal the accumulated perfumes of all the flowers he 
had ever seen congregated in one place. His limbs grew weak beneath him 
with excessive pleasure. He thought for an instant this place might be the land 
lying near the entrance to the abode of the blessed, or at least to the far-famed 
<lomains of the rich. Never before did he taste food having such extraordinary 
virtues as this seemed to possess. 

He was almost intoxicated with the taste which came into his mouth 
while eating the bread, as it resembled a sweet principle of honey, irresistible in 
its power of charming the human heart. At this stage of his entertainment 
tears filled his eyes. Every crumb was as precious to him as if it were a diamond. 
Ah, if only his sister or his father were now by his side ! He did not eat fast ; 
such action would terminate too abruptly his immense gratification. But he 
held the bread up occasionally before his fiice, turning it over and gazing at it. 
And finally he said, " Oh, Nancy, did this bread come from Heaven ?" 

A little later on in the story strange things befall him. Any 
•one who strikes him comes to a sndden death. Then a good 
woman befriends him and gives him good advice. 

There is something else I want to warn you about. It is ingratitude. 
People will be ungrateful and you must expect it. My experience has been sin- 
gular. I never went out of my way to do a good tui'u that I did not get pun- 
ished for it. I sent milk every morning free to a family for a whole year. But 
one day it did not reach them in time and they called me bad names. I bought 
clothes for the poor in winter ; the boys of these people came and stoned my 
windows. Everywhere I turned my hand to do a kindness I met a similar 
experience. Even my own relatives were hard against me. 

But never mind, Zanthon. I found afterwards that ingratitude was useful. 
We should not expect any return from doing a good act, save the satisfaction 
that it brings. A noble deed is injured by compensation. Therefore, my dear, 
when you relieve others in distress be a stranger to them. 

A very curious little study is that of the peasant to whom was 
given a silk hat. 

He, Mehill, accustomed all his life to the coarsest and cheapest of head 
gear, to don a hat like this in the full light of day and before all people, to be 
laughed at, jeered and stared out of countenance? He trembled as if the reading 
of his death warrant was in progress. 

Mark, however, the strength of human vanity. The next morning, when 
satisfied that his wife had left the house, Mehill returned to it, locked the door 
to prevent interruption, and prepared to gloat over the acquisition of his new hat 
alone. As preliminary actions he rubbed the tips of his fingers on the sides of 
his pantaloons, in order, probably, to make his grasp more secure, coughed. 



354 



CALIFOKNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



givaaed with excessive tleliirlit, then seized the hat daintily in his hands. After 
oxaiuiuiug its beanty with tlie keenest relish imaginable, he raisevl it above him 
for an instant, like one alxnit to crown himself, then permitteii its sott lining to 
em"ompass his head. The hat was on I There was a looking-glass on the wall 
n ar him, up to which he glid».\l. and the sight that met his eyes there rouseti 
every latent power of his body and tnind into eostacy. 

He langhetl, giggle^!, screametl, Iwwed to hiaiself, threw his feet up alter- 
nately in the air, as if executing a Highland tling, and performed many other 
wonderful movements, until cx^mpelleii to stop for want of breath. He never 
imagined the world capable of atlording him such pleasure. It would make him 
a new man, with patieui^e to bear twenty years more of life, even such harvi life 
as his, and gild the passage of all that time with gc>lden memories. Having 
delivertxl this deinsion to himself in his own way, he hastily replac«d the hat iu 
its rei'eptade and returned to his work in the tields. 

Being the gTatidsoii of a patriot. Zanthon, too. becomes a 
martyr to his countr>-. Finally, however, he escapes from the 
prison in which he is confined and comes to America. He never 
marries, never loves nor is loved, but devotes his energies to help- 
ing his fellow-man. 

This singular story has been the work of James Doran, who 

came to America in 1S67 
and entered the regular 
I'nited States army, with 
which he has been cvmnected 
more or less ever since. A 
school-teacher in Count \- 
Mayo, Ireland, he has al- 
ways devoted huuself to self- 
education, and attracting the 
attention of certain officers, 
notably the Chief Surgeon. 
Dr. J. V. S. Middleton, was 
encouraged in taking up cer- 
tain courses of study, and 
thereby became connected with the medical staflf corj>s. During 
this time he wrote a number of articles for papers. While in 
Oregon a serial story of his. entitled "Our Brother." ran iu the 
daily morning paper, which srory was a satire on the methods in 
use in our politics. But it arouse^i such opposition that he with- 
drew it from publication, as it was considered to be personally 




JAMKS IH")K.\N. 



FICTION, nRA:\lA AND MISCKLLANKOUS. 355 

directed against certain politicians in Oregon. Since then he 
hab avoided Californian snbjects and written npon other lands. 
Mr. Doran is a resident of Oakland. His wife, Mrs. Doran, was 
a Californian school-teacher and assists him in his literary work. 

The first novel written by a woman in California is, so far as 
known, that of Rowena Grauice Steele. It is entitled "The 
Victims of Fate," and appeared in 1S57, being pnblished b>- 
Sterrett & Co. One thonsand copies were sold in San Francisco 
and five thousand throughout the State. Mrs. Granice Steele is 
still active and about and lives in Modesto, She is well known 
for the little entertainments which she gave in early times in the 
mines, and later I remember seeing her over in Nevada, when, 
with her little son, she gave scenes from Shakespeare and bits 
of comedy. Her son is now connected with the Motlesto Ht-rald. 

" Poseidon's Paradise" is the title of a romance written by 
Eliza G. Birkmaier, which portrays life as it might have existed in 
the tamed and lost Atlantis. An able Eastern critic says of this 
volume : 

But for her (ierman name I should wonder at so careful and imaginative 
a romance of the pre-IIellenic unknown coming out of the newest new worUl. I 
don't know that Ebers and the rest have done anything more readable than this 
archiological prose poem. Rut it is expected tliat the Republic of Letters will 
require every pilgrim to bring tribute from tlie productions of his own province. 
There is abundant suggestion for tales of lost races and liistories in the very 
region from whence tliis gift comes to me. 

Mrs. Birkmaier was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and is of 
Revolutionary stock. She came to California in 185:?, when a 
child, and now lives in Alameda. Like Alice Kingsbury Ccoley, 
she has lived in her mind rather than in the external world, and 
has taken on little local color, finding more pleasure in her medi- 
tation with the ancients. Her story is beautifully told, and of 
absorbing interest to those who enjoy studies of the past. Of 
this volume the Overland says : 

A remarkable book to be a San Francisco production is Poseidon'^ I\tra<fist\ 
a story of .Vtlantis. Mrs. I^irkmaier has studied such material as was to be hud 
in mythology, IMato, and down even to Ignatius Donnelly; but wlien it is put 
together the result is very scanty, and there is required a vast dtal of creative 
imagination to make a living picture of the misty Atlantis. The result in the 
present c:ise is good ; — such anachronisms as occur are apparently unavoidable; 



35(^ 



CAl.U'OKMAN WKITKKS ANP I.ITICK ATrRK. 



toi lliougli wo may suspeot that Mrs. Uiikiiiaior has made lior ancients too far 
advaiutnl in civili/atiiui in this or tl\at pailioiilar, who sliall sav it was not l>or 
riijht to do it ? Tlio jdot of an antique i'ivili/:ation, niaehinating priests, and a 
tinal convulsion ofjiature as the catastroplie, makes tlie book inevitablv ivmparo 
itself to "'The 1-ast l\a_vs of Pompeii," to the disadvantage of the present work, 
as was to b<> expeottnl. Hut even so, tliere is still ivason for readiui; and onjoving 

A charming, sweet story is that entitled " Other Things Be- 
ing Kqnal," which is written by Ktnnia Wolf, a native San Fran- 
ciscan, 'rhoto ate many beantiful touches of feeling throughout 
the stoiy, especially in the love scenes between the two charac- 
ters of the book. For a first novel it is exceptionally well done. 

In re\iew, the Oz^tr/a mi gives the following : 

The moi^t notable novel to bo reviewed is by a local writer. "Other 
Things l>eing Kqual '" is the story of a Jewish girl v>f the l^st type who falls in 
love with a Christian physician. The sivne is pn^perly laid in San Fmnoiseo, 
lor now hero else on this continent, paU>ably, is ther^ a more ci^rdial feeling be- 
tween Jew and Christian, or a more intluential Jewish community. Kxcept for 
this Miss Wolf maktvs but slight use of Ux\hI ivloring. She tells us that her 
characters are walking on Van Ness avenue, but then? an? none of thc^se descrip- 
tive touches that make it real to those who know the street, l^nt it is not fair to 
ivmplain that the author has not done this thing or that, when she has done so 
well what she has ttit\l to do with her whole heart. She has drawn a picture of 
the best family life of the Jews that thev should Iv prvnul to own — of a Jewish 
girl, Kuth Leviiv, that is an addition to the Jewesses of literaturt^ — v>f a Jewish 
father that is a character sketch of the Ivjst sort. 

.Vinong the more serious works of philosophy relating to the 

scheme of life and its relation to the 

hereat^er is a strange little volume by 

Robert Wilson Mnrphy. It is entitled 

'" The Key to the Secret Vault," and 

relates to the mystery of death which 

___ is to unlock all the treasures ot the 

^k future destiny of man. Dr. Murphy 

^^^J^4^^^ i* '^ native of Virginia, and came to 

^^^V ^^^^^^H From Charles Shortridge of the Sau 

hHb .aHHHH -^^^"^^^ Mc-nury is quoted the following 

Kvn-.i:Kr wu.son MvKniv ^l""- Murphy cannot W olassevi among the 

l-hnersvMuans in his thev^logv, but ther* *re 
strvnii; rxMuinders of Kmerson in his literary style and in his metho^i of treating 




FICTTOX, DK.\:\I.\ AXP MISCKI.T.ANEOUS. 357 

subjects. Ho writes his OvMU'hisions at ovory topic of liis book — ;'lear cut ami 
iKvisivo. without troiiblinu liimseU' to gi^o the reasons by which he arrivinl at 
them. He is a Christian evohitionist, and without questioning the lirst chapter 
of (.lenesis, gives from the " Hook of Nature," as he calls it, a brief summary of 
the evohition of the world in exact accordance with the orvler laid down in the 
Bible. He qnotesfrom Kant the saying: "liive lue matter and I will explain 
the formation of the world ; but give me matter only and 1 cannot explain the 
formation of a caterpillar." From this conception of evolution it will be seen 
that there must necessiirily be a God to endow matter with conscious life and 
intelligence. The processes by which, life having been given, the characters of 
nations and individuals are formed, are taught in the ssimo succinct and unargn- 
mentative way. Ciod, we are told, is the prime factor in history. It is He who 
puts men in the great world movements and through them He dominates events. 
The greatest of these God-directed men is Jesus — the ideal man who is the 
" Oivine clotheil with and dwelliog in a tleshy body."' Through Jesus we are 
taught to understand the painful riddle of the earth and to conquer death. As 
the law of evolution is a law of antagonisms, it is through sorrow and sutVering 
that the human soul i« made capable of the highest happiness. The secret vault 
which contains the most precious good, or rather all that which the soul iias 
store<l up, each in its own way, while on earth, k< o/)c»{(/ bv (hr kei/ of death. This 
is but a brief outline of a system of philosophy which, stated as the author has 
done it, will be interesting to many. It seems to be a perfectly harmonious and 
consistent reconciliation of science and Christian theology, but it is not a 
reasoned system of philosophy. The author preaches to his readers as one who 
knows the truth, and does uot aiguo with them as one who is seeking it. 
Whether it would lie possible to elaborate this little book into a volume in which 
every conclusio\i would be shown to be the result of a clear system of reasoning 
is not for us to s;\y. Being as it is, the book forms a notable addition to our 
essays on this exhaustless subject, and will well repay the reading to every 
thoughtt'ul and retlecting mind. 

Regarding the success which greeted the appearance of the 
charming" Kgyptiau sketches by Jeremiah T.yuch, George Hamlin 
Fitch says : 

The lavor with which Ix>ndon critit^s rei'eived ' Egyptian Sketches," by 
Jeremiah Lynch, the well-known San Franciscan, was deserved. The l>ook, 
while it can lay no claim to literary merit, gives one a remarkably clear idea of 
motleru lite on the Nile, as well as of that early Fgypt whose remains threaten 
to bo made cheap and common by the huckstering Arab. Phe author disclaims 
the title of Egyptologist, and it is fortimate tor the reader that he iloes not in- 
dulge in those tedious historical essays that have been so cleverly caricatured by 
Cherbuliez in *' The Golden Bull of Apepi." That he has been a careful and 
enthusiastic student of Kgvptology, however, is evident, for no one who had not 
made a specialty of the subject could reproduce for ns in a few chapters all that 



358 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

is best in the science. The feature of the book that impresses the American 
most pleasantly is its entire originality. The author never scruples to give his 
opinion frankly, although this may be flatly in defiance of the conventional 
dictum, and he never fails to give good reasons for tiis judgments. He seems to 
have gone through this old land, shadowed by a hoary antiquity that melts in the 
horizon of history, with the same alert glance and eager curiosity that he would 
carry into a new land unknown to the world. What was written about Egypt 
seems to him well and to be carefully considered, but he has adopted the plan of 
seeing things with his own eyes and judging them by his own lights. The result 
is refreshing after the dull echoes of other baoks which tourists in Egypt have 
given us. 

Mr. Lynch spent nearly a year in Egypt and took pains to get some insight 
into native life and character. He lived in the native quarter of Cairo for six 
months, and mastered enough Arabic to understand the street story-tellers and 
to talk with the natives. In this way he gathered many facts and saw many 
scenes of which the ordinary traveler remains in ignorance. One of the best 
chapters relates the experience of an American whom he calls Carleton. Carle- 
ton's experiences with native cooks and servants are very amusing, and the cli- 
max is reached when he marries, on the Egyptian plan, the pretty young 
daughter of a Turkish soldier who fell at Tel-el-Kebir. She agreed to live with 
him if she were allowed to bring her mother and sister. She proved docile and 
devoted. She astonished the American by refusing to go out on the street more 
than once a week, and she gave him his greatest surprise one day when she be- 
sought him to marry her younger sister Farida, and take them both back with 
him to America. She said : " I am afraid to go away all alone from my family, 
so if my sister could go with us, and 1 know she loves you, too, we should be the 
happiest Egyptian girls in the world." Carleton acknowledged it was a tempt- 
ing offer, and in talking of it he said: "Since then Farida comes into the saloon 
where I am talking to Hanim much oftener than before. She is a true daughter 
of Isis — black hair, eyes and eyebrows, erect as Rebecca, and looks as if she could 
be a Medeo when aroused by jealousy. Of course, it cannot well be, for we do 
not live in the time of the Pharaohs, and America is not Egypt." This chapter 
also contains the best description we have seen of the professional Egyptian dan- 
cing girl, with a good portrait of a chief dancer. These girls are luxuries that 
<;an only be afforded by the wealthy, for the services of four girls and two old 
women who played ihe instruments cost Carleton $75 for one entertainment. He 
records also that they drank sweet sherbet and cheap cognac, ate candy and 
smoked cigarettes all night long. The six women consumed 200 cigarettes, a feat 
that would tax the endurance of the most accomplished San Francisco hoodlum. 

To English rule in Egypt the author devotes two chapters, which are filled 
with interesting facts. In popular style he discourses occasionally of Egyptology) 
and we fancy that most readers will get a better idea of the recent discoveries 
from this book than from the usual scientific accounts. The voyage up the Nile 
he made under the most favorable circumstances in a dahabceyeh with our Consul, 
Eugene Schuyler, and in a series of sketches he has furnished vivid pictures of 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCELLANEOUS. 



359 




the beauty of the country, the romance of its antiquities, the stjualor and misery 
of the people, and their content, which passeth all understanding. 

Mr. Frank Norris, a student at the University of California, 
has written " Yvernelle ; a Legend of Feudal France," in rhymed 
couplets. Mr. Norris is only 21 
years old, but he has already a 
more than local reputation. A 
long residence abroad seems to 
have saturated him with the 
spirit of the France of the mid- 
dle ages ; and "Yvernelle" re- 
flects very truthfully the "valor, 
love, romance and poetry ' ' of 
those fascinating times. 

When squire, page and knight, 
Portcullis, keep and barbican were real. 

, . FRANK NORRIS. 

Yvernelle is a strong per- 
formance for a man of 2 1 ; there are several episodes marked in 
dramatic force, and some descriptive passages which, perhaps, 
show the writer at his best, and hint of some pleasant surprises 
for the future. Of such is : 

Within a forest's tangled heart, 
Far from the fief of Brittomarte, 
Some three leagues as the swart crow flies, 
A little stone-built bridge there lies — 
A relic of the Roman day 
When Cffisar's legions held their sway 
Of Gaul — when Roman skill and art 
Subdued the might of Gallic heart. 
Scarce wider than the dun deer's leap, 
Than his slim fetlock not as deep, 
With dimpling cheek and laughing eye 
The little stream goes dancing by. 
Beneath its rippling wavelets fleet 
The hemlocks bathe their gnarled feet; 
O'er it the oaks their strong arms cast 
To shield it 'gainst the boist'rous blast. 

Of Frank Norris the Boston Home Joji^nal says : 

Frank Norris shows a familiarity with the old knightly chronicles in this 
romantic poem, add recounts with all the flavor and fascinating interest of the 



360 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

old clironiolos, in thient and melodious verse, the loves, battles and adventures of 
avaliant knight. His great tight in the forest, the furious gt\lop on the invincible 
horse, Bayard, through the wild night to the door of the church wherein the 
fair and despairing Yvernelle stands ready to take the veil, are recounted in a 
style of unsurpassed power. 

The Overhifid Monthly says : 

"Yvernelle," by Frank Norris, is a legend of chivalry founded on s 
passage from Goethe, in which a curse is laid by a deserted woman on the woman 
whose lips shall next touch those of her reluctant lover. Yvernelle falls under 
the curse, and the story is devoted to the purging of the lover's sin through 
mortal combat and mastery of self and his tinal happy union with Yvernelle. 
The book is a marvel ot the printer's art — the binding is in white and gold and 
the illustrations are exquisite, both in design and reproduction. The illuminated 
figures by Dielman, Shirlaw and Will Low are especially tine. The text is most 
interesting — sparkles with apt and pretty tigures, and in the second canto and iu 
Sir Caverlaye's ride, rises to a good deal of dramatic force. 

OREPUSCULUM. 
I hear them say our little life's "a day" — 
That, born with light, at dusk it dies away. 
I hear them say that Death is that Life's night — 
That we but wax and wane with changing light. 
O Blind! The Day 's not yet, this Life of ours 
Is still the night's slow retinue of hours; ' 

It's sorrows, nightmares, phantasms of shade ; 
Its pleasures, dreams that only form to fade. 
Our Life's a night through which we blindly grope 
"With outstretched palms, hoping 'gainst failing hope. 
Death usher's in the dawn of Life's true day; 
Though gray the eve, so is the morning gray. 
Be thou uplift, O Heart! Death's visage wan 
Is lighted not with twilight but with dawn. — Frank Norris. 

Among the volumes of verse published iu California none 
have so pathetic a historj' as those written bj- Lorenzo Sosso. 
Born in Italy, young Sosso came when but a child with his 
parents to California, and soon forgot his native language. But 
the spirit of genius burned on through years of poverty and 
menial labor. In inter\'als of work poems came crowding into 
his brain, almost faster than he could write them. Xight study 
brought familiarity with classic myths and the meters of the 
poets. His savings of years published a volume before he was 
twenty years of age. It contained many ideas and graceful lines, 
but of this edition he did not sell a copy. His book, however. 



FICTION, DRAMA AND MISCELLANEOUS. 



361 



passed through many hands and was read with a degree of inter- 
est which attracted attention and aroused curiosity. The poems 
addressed ' " To Kitty ' ' were very sweet and innocent in their 
tone, while the more stately verses contained a promise of better 
things to come. 

Not discouraged, two years later he published another vol- 
ume with such advance in style and power that it drew reviews 
of praise from such papers as the Indepefidcnt, the Nation and 
others, but was ignored by critics nearer home, with the excep- 
tion of Mrs. Parkhurst, who gave 
him an extended notice in the 
Californian. Again he did not 
sell a copy, but attention was at- 
tracted to him, and a friend came 
forward who took him out of his 
lowl)' place and gave him a posi- 
tion in the Postoffice. Here he 
became a part of the machine, 
and has been so busily employed 
that in the time that has since 
elapsed he has written not one 
poem. But he has evidently 
been thinking, and, when a few 
more years have passed over his 
head, may speak again. 

The strange thing about Mr. 
Sosso's verse is that it reveals a 
close acquaintance with books, and scarcely any knowledge of 
that comradeship which exists between people. He has grown 
up solitary and alone, preferring solitude to the elements which 
were his share. That he is gifted there is no doubt, as may be 
seen by his later volume, entitled "Poems of Humanity" and 
"Abelardto Heloise." The attention thathemerits may be judged 
from the following stanzas, which appear also in " Readings^from 
Californian Writers ' ' : 

THK rOKT. 

To preach the wisdom of the ages, 
To glorify those seers and sages 

Who taught that life i;; but transition ; 




LORENZO SOSSO. 



362 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

To seek denial in endeavor, 
To sing to men God's truths forever, 
This is the poet's holy mission. 

To give a voice to spirits voiceless. 
To make rejoice the hearts rejoiceless, 

To worship Love and Faith and Beauty ; 
To learn Life's everlasting meaning, 
Which Nature seems forever screening. 

This is the poet's glorious duty. 

To be the symbol of creation, 

The warrior of his land and nation, 

Whatever dangers may surround her ; 
To see her glory not diminished, 
To see her mighty race is finished. 

When liberty divine has crowned her. 

And when men's deeds of valor dwindle. 
To reawaken and enkindle 

Within their souls a higher splendor ; 
To be amidst the van forbearing. 
To be the first of freemen daring, 

The last of mortals to surrender. 

To lead where none may seem to follow 
Along the pathway of Apollo, 

Where Powers eternal seem to set him. 
This should the poet do forever. 
Though myriads laugh at his endeavor. 

Though men remember or forget him. — Lorenzo Sosso. 






^^ 



UHKNoWfi AUTHORS, 



UITEHRTURE flS A Pt^OFESSIOfl FOR 
WOJVIElSi. 

1883. 
f^ead before the Chautaqua Cirole, Paeitie Grove, by EUa Sterling Cummins. 

Woman may be appropriately termed ' ' The Peaceful In- 
vader," for without war or even a flag of truce she has silently 
crept into all the places from which formerly, by common consent, 
she was excluded. Even Masonry, her sworn enemy, has widened 
its circles and taken her in, as well as other secret societies ; while 
lately the order known as the Patriotic Sons of America, in Cali- 
fornia, missing her presence, has of its own accord provided a 
new ritual and organized auxiliary lodges, to be known as the 
Patriotic Daughters of America. 

It is a curious state of aflfairs by contrast to the olden days, 
but whether it will result in her ultimate advantage or not, will 
be known only to the philosopher of the future. 

As to the origin of this peaceful invasion, we may trace its 
first impetus when, a hundred years ago, Frances Burney in- 
vaded the realm of literature with the first novel written by a 
woman. All London was taken by storm, and "Evelina" was 
the entering wedge of women's invasion. Preceeding that 
event, the novel had laid up tor itself, condemnation and reproach 
to last a century, the very word, to some people to-day, being a 
synonym for coarseness and vulgarity. " Evalina " was a rev- 
elation to the sated dwellers in ' ' Vanity Fair. ' ' It was a bright 
humorous picture of London life, which, though tinged with 
caricature rather than character painting, yet was free from any 
taint or touch of coarseness whatever. And though the author 
never equalled her first eflFort, through falling into imitation of the 
learned Dr. Johnson and others of that didactic coterie, yet in 
that one production she taught the world of literature a lesson, 



366 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

and made a path for her sisterhood to follow. Shortly after Mrs. 
Radcliff followed and became the true founder of the English 
school of romance with her " Mj'^steries of Udolpho," that for- 
bidden delight of our grandmothers. Maria Edgeworth, Jane 
Austin and Jane Porter came in turn ; then the poetic school of 
Cook, Landon and Hemans, culminating in Elizabeth Barrett 
Browning ; then the Bronte sisters and George Eliot, both poet 
and novelist, and the later school of to-day. 

Prior to this epoch introduced by Miss Burney, Elizabeth 
Elstob had written an Anglo-Saxon grammar, but it was not a 
natural field for woman's occupation, and with Frances Burney, 
afterwards Madame D'Arblay, rests the first honor of leading 
the way. 

In all the womanly lists of novelists and poets it seems 
strange that there should not be one successful dramatist. Mrs. 
Inchbald was the \\riter of two or three comedies, but they were 
not of the kind that live, and though the name of Maria L,ovell 
is given as the author of that most charming play of ' ' Ingomar 
and Parthenia," yet investigation shows that it was written by a 
German dramatist, and that she is merely the translator. 

Our own Frances (Mrs. Hodgson Burnett) has been more 
successful than others of her sisterhood in this line, with her 
charming " Ivsmeralda " and " That Lass o' T.owrie's," but they 
have been dramatized novels rather than pure dramatizations, 
and had to be passed through the playwright's hands to be thus 
prepared. 

So much remains to be done by woman in the field of litera- 
ture before she can la}- claim to actual rivalry- with man. 

But it is not of the past, nor of great writers and achieve- 
ments, that I wish to speak — rather of the small, well-beaten 
paths that lie within our reach to-day. Where there is one 
woman who achieves success in a single, well-written book, there 
are thousands who can earn a modest income by hard, dogged 
work in literature as a profession, and this is the point to be con- 
sidered. Frances Burney opened the way for her sisterhood, who 
were not long to take the hint, and to-day, a hundred years after, 
they have invaded the field by thousands, gleaning right and left 
for all the straj- sheaves that may have been overlooked, but by 



I.ITERATURE AS A PROFESSION FOR WOMEN. 367 

whom there will be no individual itnpression made upon present 
literature, and of whom posterity will never hear. And this will 
be because their life work is absorbed by the daily press, in long 
columns of ephemeral writings suited to the hour, but without 
name or even initial to identify the writer. 

To understand this we must remember that there are many 
kinds of writing, and to-day the old-fashioned idea that a moral 
must be inspired in order to make the pen fly is relegated to the 
shelf with the antiquities of the past. Most of the writing of 
to-day is done to-order — what is rudely known as "hack work" — 
although it sometimes requires a great amount of education and 
a fine brain to. produce what is desired. This is a hard age. 

It has reduced the science of supply and demand to a fine 
point. An editor of a journal or magazine may despise the pro- 
vender upon which he feeds his subscribers, but he has made a 
study of the desires of the greatest number, and merely supplies 
the stuff suited to this demand in order that he may continue in 
business. 

When, as assistant editor, the writer was taken on the staff 
of a certain Western magazine {JFlie Golden Era), immediately 
she started in to begin a complete reformation. Said she: "I 
want this publication to be a credit to all concerned, and the first 
thing is to bounce all this silly trash and poetry, and bring it up 
to a high standard." 

The editor, who had made a number of experiments and 
knew all about such a course of procedure, simply smiled and 
said: "Yes, it would be very nice. If I should let you have 
your way, in six months I would not have a subscriber left." 
And in a short time the would-be reformer discovered that a 
certain trashy story (at least from her point of view) brought in 
ten subscribers fo their own accord, while a silly little poem, 
utterly weak and watery, according to her idea, brought out 
letters from people in every direction, who were inexpressible- 
touched by its refrain. 

And so the fault lies not with the editor or manager of a 
publication in what he publishes, but in the defective taste of the 
public. Sometimes it happens that the most valuable ai:d critical 
article passes unnoticed, save by a very few, while a simple little 



368 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I.ITERATURE. 

tale awakens the interest of the many. It is the greatest and 
most wonderful study — this of keeping the finger on the popular 
pulse — and the most successful editor is he who is master of the 
art. To accomplish this purpose, he introduces special depart- 
ments, each attractive to a certain class — a theatrical department, 
a fashion department, sporting, secret societies and even a gossip 
department. These kinds of writings have afforded many oppor- 
tunities for the invasion of women, who have shown a special 
aptitude for certain of these positions, notably the theatrical, the 
artistic, the fashion and gossip departments. A quick, bright 
humor and readable style are the chief requisites of these writers, 
and render them valuable in their special lines. 

Thus we make a distinction right here between this writing 
to order, which is to fill this demand of the popular press, and 
the creative writing, which is born of a human soul who feels 
that she has a tale to tell — a tale she must tell whether the world 
will hear or not. She may give to the world a masterpiece — a 
mono-poem — one which brings the tears to the eyes, a throb to 
the heart, one which will live long after she is resting upon the 
breast of Mother Earth, but which will not bring to her the 
bread to keep her alive. Literature as a profession is a very 
different thing from this. From a well-conducted theatrical de- 
partment a woman may earn sufficient to keep herself, and, in 
in some cases, her fatherless children, nicely fed and clothed, 
varying in peculiar cases from$io to $25 a week. For the super- 
vision of a periodical, editing and contributing, some women 
receive from $2000 to $3000 and $4000 a year. This highest sum 
is received by Mary L,. Booth of Harper's Bazar, and a similar 
sum by Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge of St. Nicholas, while Mrs. 
Klla Farran receives $3000 a year as part owner of Wide- Awake. 
These are exceptional cases, however, and in each one the posi- 
tion has been created by the incumbent. 

In the same way, those who receive large sums for novel- 
writing, or the producing of books of travel or essays, or even 
Sunday School literature, each one has to create her own demand 
before she has obtained her place among the ranks. 

Publishers do not publish books or carry on their business 
for the fnn of it, any more than any other business man. A 



LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION FOR WOMEN 369 

thorough, earnest student once prepared himself for a professor- 
ship, and wrote to a prominent professor to ask how it would be 
possible to secure such a position finally. The professor was a 
man of brains, rather than heart. He was perfectly safe in his 
reply: " Get a reputation and personal influence." And this is 
a life work in itself. 

So in literature, a reputation stands as the first requisite for 
those who wish to write books or gain large sums of mone3\ 

Lesser positions, however, are to be found of a similar, 
though smaller nature, every journal of any importance having 
two or more women employed in these special lines of literary 
work already mentioned. In San Francisco there are some eight . 
or ten ladies especially engaged in department work, notably Mrs. 
Joseph Austin, the "Betsey B." of the Argonaut, Mrs. linger of the 
Chronicle and San Franciscan^ Mrs. Flora Haines Apponyi of the 
Chronicle and Alia, as well as San Franciscan, Miss Millicent 
Shinn, editor of the Overland Monthly, Mrs. Annie L,ake Town- 
send, the Misses I^ake of the Call and Argonaut, Mrs. Avery of 
the Rural Press, Mrs. Chretien of the Examiner and Mrs. Frona 
Waite of the Ingleside, most of whom have no special identity, 
but the greater portion of whose work is daily and weekly swal- 
lowed up in the personality of the paper upon which they are 
engaged. 

Some very remarkable writing has been done in these special 
lines. It has been said of Mrs. linger: "She has lifted a fashion 
•department up to a dignity it never possessed before, while as an 
art critic she cannot be surpassed," 

It is conceded by those who know, that Mrs. Austin's de- 
partment of theatrical criticism is handled in a masterly manner. 
Mrs. Apponyi is particularly happy in descriptive articles of 
libraries, art collections and in local sketches, besides possessing 
a gift in story-writing. The Lake sisters are all gifted, and 
bring to the finish of their work, whatever it may be, either art 
or musical criticism, or the realm of story-writing, the results of 
the highest cultivation. 

This is the bright side of the picture, but there is another as 
well. A woman with a clever gift in character writing, with 
humorous and refined flashes of wit, is pressed into service, writ- 



370 CAIvIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

ing up a fashion department or theatrical gossip, in one of our 
daily journals, where for a good salary she grinds out the stuff 
required at so much per week, without regard to the after-affects 
or even dangerous consequences. The result is a tired brain, 
forced work and a hatred for the realm of literature. A most 
charming little woman thus engaged, Mrs. Minnie Buchanan 
Unger, said to me the other day: " I wish I could see my way 
out of the writing business. The first luxury I should treat my- 
self to would be to buy one gallon of ink, for the pleasure of 
pouring it into the Bay." 

And in no profession is there such nervous prostration and 
breaking down of the system, as that which makes ceaseless 
demand upon hand and brain. Sometimes the hand weakens 
with paralysis, and with loss of situation staring her in the face 
she must learn a new method of using the pen, perhaps become 
left-handed. Sometimes the brain refuses to be coaxed into con- 
sidering, the frivolities and caprices of the world of fashion or 
of the drama or of gossip, and it must be forced and goaded by 
such means as make dishwashing appear to be a species of fancy 
work, and, by comparison, a positive pleasure and delight. 

These modern cases, where it becomes a burden, where the 
writer is denied the opportuity of expansion and compelled to re- 
main in restricted limits, shows a certain similarity to the fate of 
the original invader into the realm of literature. 

Macaulay inveighs against the short-sighted policy which 
led Miss Burney to accept the position of waiting-maid to the 
Queen as a great honor — to spend years of her life in tying bows 
and caring for the laces of her Majesty, and standing by the 
hour in her presence — a course which not only ruined her health, 
but dwarfed and ruined her natural powers. And so with these 
of her talented sisters in journalism. 

They are doomed to the tying of the bows and caring for the 
laces of fashion, than whom there exists no more imperious 
queen. They are condemned to a constant bowing and curtesy- 
ing to the public to keep in her good graces, and they come out 
from it broken and jaded in spirit and health, receiving nothing 
more than did Miss Burney in exchange for all this fine work of 
brain and hand, merely food, clothing and lodging and an un- 



LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION FOR WOMEN. 37 1 

gracious dismissal. These are some ot the defects of the depart- 
ment system. It reduces a human being to a mere machine, 
througii which the requiied thoughts are ground out. Not long 
ago I met such an individual, a journalist upon one of the San 
Francisco daily papers, and he did not seem a human being, to 
such perfection had he become under this system. He had no 
knowledge of anything not relating to his special line. He had 
ceased to think upon anything except the subject for which he was 
paid to think. His hand trembled, his eyes were weak ; he re- 
peated my words with an aimless repetition. I referred to some 
writing he had done in his youth, a story I had seen in an old 
file of the Golden Era away back in i860. An inane smile 
lighted up his indistinct countenance for an instant. Then a look 
of fear followed. 

" Sh ! " he whispered, looking around him. " I — I don't do 
that kind of work any more. I have charge of such and such a 
department. It is too late — too late. The dreams of my youth — 

what I once hoped " He seemed dazed. Then' recovering 

himself said : " Have you seen my last criticism on the ' History 
of Dictionaries? ' " 

It was pitiful. It seemed to me that there was a railroad 
track through his brain on just one subject, and that all else 
was either desert or brambles. But there is something in a 
woman's nature that would make her either die or go insane be- 
fore reaching such a condition as this, and instead of an end, I 
believe that many of them can make these department positions 
merely stepping-stones to something higher. 

Another galling point in literature as a profession for woman 
is the limitation with which all attempts to do enthusiastic work 
is surrounded. At first a woman writes with her whole soul and 
throws in many beautifying touches. She views her work as a 
labor of love. Now space is the criterion of modern literary 
prowess, and she soon finds that her article is chopped off" in the 
middle without regard to reason. An ordinary descriptive sketch 
will stand this sort of treatment and no one will be the wiser ; 
but a story writer has to become philosophical and measure out 
her paper before she begins, if she does not want to be astonished 
when it appears in print. 



372 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Another point still more serious is the absolute power of 
editor or publisher in the changing of a writer's plot to suit his 
particular ideal. It is said that authors of prominence, even 
those who have scored success in literature, cannot give free 
utterance to their artistic conceptions in the books they write, 
without fearing their publishers. 

In her novel, entitled, " Through One Administration." it 
is said that Mrs. Francis Hodgson Burnett was compelled to re- 
write the conclusion three times in order to please the editor of 
the Century, and when her readers reached the end, the)'' felt, 
one and all, that some jugglery had been done, it was so inartistic 
and unworth}' of the opening chapters. The same thing was 
done in the otherwise noble book, entitled "Anne," by Con- 
stance Fenimore Woolsen. Fresh and bright as it originally 
stood, it was a charming story of a young girl, but the powers-that- 
were, thought the pages wanted a sensation, so returned it to her 
with the result of having a murder introduced which jarred upon 
every one, it seemed so terribly forced, and ruined the artistic 
quality of the book as a pleasant study. 

In this, we see the same spirit at work that ruined Frances 
Buruey's later works. She was surrounded by a learned coterie 
who were pleasantly wise and set a fashion of their own of using 
a Latinized-English dialect, which they considered the acme of 
elegant diction, but which, in his day, Macauley pronounced to 
be " simply detestable." She became infected with the manner- 
isms of the day, and lost the delightful simplicity of language, 
which was her chief charm, and took on this "detestable dialect," 
which so obscured the sense that her subsequent books were almost 
unreadable. While there is much to be gained from contact with 
intellectual giants, their methods are not always best adapted to 
mortals under their size, who may be much swifter and quicker 
in making their smaller circles ; and the compiler of a dictionary, 
who may be successful enough in his field, is scarcely fitted to 
advise a woman who is writing a novel, nor is the editor of a 
successful periodical, merely because he is a successful editor, 
any better adapted to know what is the real artistic finish to the 
plot and characters conceived by the busj'^ brain of a woman who 
loves her work. 



LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION FOR WOMEN. 373 

Imagine Dr. Johnson advising our Louise Alcott how to write 
her delightful stories. I am afraid we should have had no 
delicious "Jo" with all her crudities and naive expressions, 
while " the little women " would have strutted around in their 
grandfather's coats and wigs and spectacles. 

Each writer should have a tale of her own to tell, fresh and 
uncontaminated by an other spring. The imitating of books and 
characters already in existence, is an unnecessary task. Origin- 
ality is the ring that tells the conterfeit from the real gold or 
silver in literature. 

At the same time the woman who is endowed with the 
artistic quality, with brightness of style and analysis of character, 
may find many opportunities for the development of her powers 
in common, ordinary newspaper work, and in the learning of her 
art, provided it is not made a burden. 

The short story writers occupy a charming field — one which 
is the most attractive in all the literature ot the present. There 
is a certain demand for short stories which makes them seem all 
the more attractive, and leading many to take up the pen who 
vainly imagine that it must be the easiest thing in the world, and 
this accounts for much of the stuff we see in print. But, on the 
contrary, short story writing is as surely a gift as verse writing or 
any other species of literature. A certain man said in comment 
upon the three-volume novel he had just written : " If I had had 
the time I should have made it a short story." 

Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford has stood at the head of short 
story writers for twenty years, and it is doubtful if anj^ one has 
arisen to compete with her. Upon our own coast we have a 
school of short story writers coming to the front, among whom 
are the Lake sisters. Flora Haines Apponyi, Mrs. Emma Francis 
Dawson, Yda Addis, Evelyn Ludlum, Kate Bishop and others, 
who all write with great strength and clearness. 

There needs to be a certain brightness, compactness and 
crystallization of purpose in a short story which cannot be 
achieved by an amateur at the trade. 

Good short stories find a market at Christmas times on our 
coast at from ten to twenty-five dollars, according to desirability 
and the fame of the writer. And this is one of the reasons that 



374 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

the new fa.sliion is to write under one's own name, retaining one's 
individuality, for, in the course of time, a name comes to have a 
commercial value. 

With a limited amount of experience in journalism, a coming 
in contact with type and printer's ink, a woman gains more 
thorough education in practical methods of writing, in terseness, 
and the realities of life, than in a whole life-time studying books. 
And this is one of the reasons why manuscripts sent in by fairl}-- 
intelligent people are so often unavailable, they are uncon- 
scionably long, didactic, and without one touch of human nature. 
The amateur who longs for the bitters and sweets of a liter- 
ary life, had best make friends with an editor and obtain permis- 
sion to practice on his paper. If no other way opens, it might be 
a good idea to save the editor's life in order to obtain the coveted 
permission. Nothing ICvSS will open the columns of some of our 
papers and magazines to a new-comer. 

An extraordinary woman may be able to write well without 
this process, but the average, ordinary woman of promise, with 
some little talent, and a great desire to achieve fame, will find 
that there is no other road to the charmed circle. She will even 
find that the personal influence is more powerful than positive 
genius, and will be enabled by means of it to snatch many a 
little crumb from the more gifted. 

George Eliot passed through a long and arduous experience of 
magazine editing and writing, and did not produce her first 
novel till she was 37 years of age. The roses of fullfillment 
were long in coming, but they were far more finished, per- 
fected roses than those that bloom on the earlj^ developed tree. 

There are many things that a woman discovers in newspaper 
life. The greatest that two things are necessary to becoming a 
writer — the first : to have something to say, next : to know how 
to say it, and sometimes she discovers that the latter is con- 
sidered the more important of the two. And it is true, also, of 
orator}'. How often we have been charmed with the man who 
speaks with the silver tongue, and afterwards have wondered what 
t was all about, while often the man who has something great to 
say, obscures and dims it all by not knowing how to say it. But 
the joining of the two makes the finished orator as well as the 



LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION FOR WOMEN. 375 

finished writer. Anothei great lesson is that which women do not 
easily learn — the lesson of brevity, the lesson of silence, even. 
This is one of the chief obstacles to woman's success in invading the 
territory of man. Whatever her instincts, her artistic qualities, 
her intuitions, she loves to talk, and sometimes selects the busiest 
hour, when each sixty seconds represent a diamond moment. 

Woman is naturally undisciplined, and cannot see why she 
should not take precedence of business matters, merely because 
she is a woman. It is not her fault ; she has been trained to ex- 
pect it ; but the fact is, that while the literary work of many of 
our women is desirable and greeted with pleasure by the expect- 
ant editor, their presence is not always so. 

Consequently, for a woman to be received with equal pleas- 
ure by an editor, she ought to save his life or have done him 
some tremendous favor, in order that he may not be wishing to 
heaven that she would take an early departure. However, as a 
rule, editors and newspaper men are the most courteous, the 
kindest and most obliging of all classes of men, especially when 
we take into consideration the awful trials that they are com- 
pelled to endure. An editor's office is the natural rendezvous for 
all the wild cranks and partially insane creatures in the com- 
munity. 

Think of a wild-eyed poet bringing in a thousand lines of 
poetry, entitled " To the Universe," and insisting on reading it 
to the unfortunate editor in his den, and assuring him that he 
has still two thousand more to read when he has finished the 
first installment. It is not much wonder that an editor gets to 
viewing each new-comer with a doubtful expression of counten- 
ance, not knowing what sort of a new human being is about to 
spring upon him. 

In this personal contact with type and printer's ink women 
also learn that they cannot take precedence of all things else ; 
that the printing press waits for no woman ; and only the other 
day a bright young woman, Frona Eunice Waite, who had 
worked her way, step by step, from the type-font to the editing 
of a department, said to me : " Oh, yes ! I find that the more 
obscure that I make myself the better it is for me. Men don't 
like to feel that a woman is around when they are busy at their 



376 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

work, and so I dress plainly and keep all the rustle out of my 
skirts that I possibly can, 

A woman soon learns that her natural exactions in regard to 
drawing-room etiquette in a printing office are very decidedly in 
the way of acquiring business methods, and without business 
sagacity in this day and generation women might as well realize 
that their invasion will not be a success. 

Common-sense is at the root of all the success of to-day, and 
without it we are left behind in the race. 

The need of woman preparing herself for the profession of 
literature cannot be doubted, but there is another form that pre- 
sents itself as a goddess that has touched the earth lightly. It is 
that of the extraordinary woman, who has developed in the dark 
silence of her own four walls, who shall feel in her own soul throes 
of mental agony in the tale she has to tell, the offspring born of her 
soul and brain and arrayed in classical garments. Why should 
we not look forward to producing one such woman in all our 
glorious fruitage of this fair land of ours ? Why should we 
yield to this hard age and refuse her even an ideal existence ? 

Inspiration still lives, far and above all this machinery and 
study of supply and demand. The creative instinct still exists, 
lofty and pure of heart, not caring for food or drink ; and some 
day Inspiration and Creative Instinct will arise and from some 
woman's tongue speak forth. 

She will need no other aids or helps than her own heaven- 
born genius, and literature will be to her not a profession, but 
merely a voice ! — Ella Sterling Cummins, 




pi^Om A WOlWiBrl'S POIflT OF VIEW. 

CUPitten for the " Califopnian Story of the piles" by Floca Haines lioughead. 

The author of this book has asked me to give from my own 
experience an opinion upon San Francisco editors and journalists, 
and I feel very much like one born and bred in the backwoods 
who is asked to write a history of the world. Some little knowl- 
edge of our local newspapers and the men who make them has 
came to me during years of activity as one of the minor workers 
upon them ; but this knowledge was but incidental to a very 
busy life, which gave no time for reflection, and I have never 
stopped to measure it until now. When I try to narrow the 
subject to a more familiar field and to write about women in jour- 
nalism, I am again under still more embarrassing limitations, for 
circumstances confined my actual knowledge of the women jour- 
nalists of San Faancisco to one woman, and that woman myself. 

So far as I can learn, I believe that I was the first woman to 
engage in "all-around newspaper work" in San Francisco. 
There were women who wrote on special subjects, mainly about 
the fashions and social events, with now and then an eloquent 
appeal in behalf of charitable or reform work, and there were 
correspondents galore. There may have been a few others who 
had previously tried their hands at regular work in the open 
field, but it would seem that they could not have persevered long 
enough to have made any record, for I never heard of them. The 
isolation of my position did not trouble me then, because it never 
occurred to me, probably because heavier anxieties left no room 
for any .self-consciousness ; but I can see now how very pleasant 
it would have been to have had the countenance of a single fel- 
low-worker of my own sex. Yet it is this very isolation in which 
I stood, and the fact that I was walking an untrodden path. 



378 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I^ITERATURE. 

where neither editors nor the public had quite decided to welcome 
a woman, that invests my experience with value. 

My entrance into journalism was accidental from first to last. 
In San Francisco it began with a few articles on a special subject 
which was just then commanding national attention, and upon 
which a friend had assured the proprietor of the principal daily 
that, although a mere girl, I was competent to write. These 
were furnished by request and with indifferent interest on my 
part. A year later necessity led me to apply to the same news- 
paper for work. The first task given me was one requiring some 
courage and finesse — the investigation of a doubtful adver- 
tisement fiom one of the most notorious and infamous baby farm- 
ers of San Francisco. It may be that my unheasitating accept- 
ance of this disagreeable and, for a woman, somewhat dangerous 
mission, and my success with it, led to my subsequent steady 
employment. I never accepted a regular staff position, for my 
home duties made it impossible to give regular hours to my 
bread-winning work, but always came under the class of special 
writers, sometimes working upon elective subjects, sometimes at 
the suggestion of the editor, and occasionally taking a detail from 
the office. I was over-fastidious in my choice of topics and un- 
willing to stand forth as a regular reporter and fare forth to all 
sorts of places at the command and convenience of my chief. 
Herein I was handicapped and of less value to the paper. Other 
women have since demonstrated that a woman may go upon a 
newspaper staff and perform every legitimate task that a man is 
called upon to discharge, without sacrificing one iota of her 
womanliness or dignity. I was not afraid to face an enraged 
woman whom I had thwarted in her scheme to gain possession of 
an innocent child and to sell it for base purposes ; but when it 
came to go to the Pavilion to a walking-match, where men were 
swearing and drinking and low women were assembled, I was a 
coward. " Annie Laurie " would have done both, and have done 
them nobly, leaving the impress of her strong womanly character 
upon the rough sporting crowd, and working into her report 
some grain of leaven, in the way of kind suggestion or wise 
rebuke. A true journalist should be like a soldier, ready to obey 
orders without question. 



SAN FRANCISCO JOURNAI.ISM. 379 

Nothing would justify the personal nature of this reminis- 
cence but the facts that it is intended to establish. I stepped 
into newspaper work, unprepared and in many respects unfitted 
for it, and preserved in it for years, weighed down by untold 
anxieties that sapped my strength and courage. I could not 
have contended against injustice. A rebuke or open disapproval 
would have wounded me to the quick. I was a child in my ex- 
perience of the world, but pure of heart and purpose, and a 
single act of familiarity or an indelicate word would have crushed 
me. I was daily thrown into close contact with men, sometimes 
in confidential consultation at the editor's desk, or writing in 
noisy local rooms, where a host of reporters came and went. In 
all this time I was treated with unvarying respect and considera- 
tion. If my work was faulty or ill-judged, as it must sometimes 
have been, the necessary admonition came in the form of a kind 
suggestion or apologetic criticism. No indelicate word was ever 
addressed to me, no language ever used in my presence that my 
little children might not have heard. If my presence was a re- 
straint I never was permitted to feel it. If, as sometimes hap- 
pened, a particularly desirable piece of work fell to my share, no 
one was quicker to congratulate me than the man who would 
have been selected to do it if I had not been there. I,ooking 
back and realizing that in my small person was presented the 
new and doubtful element of woman's competition in newspaper 
work, and a competition wholly outside of the departments of 
fashion and social life, which had always been willingly enough 
conceded to her, it seems to me that there was something 
knightly in this treatment. And it must be remembered that I 
was not a pretty girl, or even a maiden lady who presented inter- 
esting possibilities or could be a pleasant social acquaintance, but 
a very careworn young mother, who often brought a little child 
with her when an errand led her into the office. 

It appears to me that this experience means a great deal. It 
means that San Francisco journalists are generous minded, hon- 
orable, considerate men. Moreover, it demonstrates that an 
earnest woman, faithfully toiling in new and difficult fields, may 
be sure of finding respect and good-fellowship among all intelli- 
gent men. The two qualities essential to her are sincerity and 



380 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

faithful service. Other qualities may raise the estimate in which 
she is held and help her to win popularity, but these two will 
insure her respect. 

With this chapter to look back upon, it cannot be expected 
that I should be willing to make a cold-blooded estimate of Sau 
Francisco editors and journalists. If they have their frailties 
and eccentricities, others must weigh these and set them down. 
In scholarship and ability, I think they will rank with their 
brethren in the most important Eastern cities ; in originality and 
enterprise they will outrank the latter. There is a marked tend- 
ency among educated men toward daily journalism, but it is 
doubtful whether any other city in the world can show such an 
army of cultured, educated, brainy men as form the rank and 
file of the newspaper profession in San Francisco. There is justi- 
fication for their choice in the life they lead. If a man wishes to 
probe the depths of living, if he wants to climb its heights, if 
he would see evil and virtue in every form, if he would himself 
be a potent though invisible influence in society, if he would 
enjoy pure, unadulterated fun, or run the chance of proving him- 
self a hero, let him elect to follow the life of a newspaper reporter 
in this Western city. The labor is arduous, but it is nothing 
compared to the experience. Our greatest novelist should be 
bred in this school ; but he must be strong enough to with- 
stand its temptations, which are many. 

To write fairly and comprehensively of San Francisco jour- 
nals would require much space, and the story might need to be 
revised to-morrow. Take, for instance, the two leading daily 
papers, the Chronicle and Examiner. A few years ago the 
Chronicle was the synonym for all that was enterprising and 
radical. Now, no less ably edited, it is dignified, conservative 
and eminently cautious. A few years ago the Examiner, 
although the sole Democratic morning paper in a Democratic 
city, was a sleepy little journal of no pretensions and small circu- 
lation, quite lost to sight behind its Republican contemporaries. 
To-day, in the hands of its able and generous proprietor, it is a 
brilliant paper, whose enterprise extends to all quarters of the 
globe, and the most widely read newspaper west of the Missis- 
sippi. The Call, the Post, the Report and the Bulletin are news- 



SAN FRANCISCO JOURNALISM. 38 1 

papers of seconday circulation, but there is no telling what day 
one of these may forge to the front and closely press the leaders, 
or whether some wholly new publication may not see the light, 
endowed with some of our surplus capital and a fresh fund of 
Western ideas, and take the popular fancy b}^ storm. 

San Francisco is singularly deficient in weekly papers. The 
Argonaut occupies a peculiar and unique place of interest, due 
to the original genius and fearless speech of one man. The Wasp 
and the News Letter intetest many for the hour, but do not pre- 
tend to any permanent value. The only two weekly literary 
publications of any standing that have been inaugurated during 
the past twenty years, the Ingleside and the San Franciscan, 
achieved very decent reputations and considerable popularity, 
but were permitted to die before the}-- had been placed on a sound 
financial basis. The great journalistic possibility of San Fran- 
cisco is a weekly illustrated paper, produced in a style equal to 
Harper^ s Weekly, conducted with dignity, presenting a conden- 
sation of the news of the world, and of this coast in particular, 
and containing the very best fresh fiction obtainable from local 
writers. Such a journal would find generous support, both here 
and elsewhere. — Flora Haines Longhead. 




mowIA^t's pi^Ess flssociAxiori. 

JOOl^NAIiISTS : 

Frances M. Bagby, Mrs. John B. Berry, Mary M. Boimnan, Maggie D. 
Brainard, Genevieve Lucille Brown, Base Bushnell, Sarah B. Cooper, Mrs. Sam 
Davis, C. E. Eddy, M. Q. C. Edhohn, Virginia C. Forivard, Louise Francis, M. F. 
Hull-Wood, Mary E. Hart, L. C. P. Haskins, S. E. A. Higgins, Ella Higginson, 
Virginia Hilliard, D. A. Hodghead, M. L. Hoffman-Craig, Elizabeth Hogan, An- 
drea Hofer, Abba Holton, Eliza D. Keith {Di Vernon), Barbara Knell, Adeline E. 
Knapp, Mary T. Lawrence, B. A. Marshall, Florence Percy Mathern, Juana A. 
Neal, Mattie P. Owen, E. T. Y. ParUmrsl, Maud Peasely, Isabel Baymond, S. E. 
Beamer, Sarah Sanford, Mary B. Watson, Charlotte Perkins Stetson, Alice Cany 
Waterman and others. 

AUTHOf^S: 

Gertrude Franklin Atherton, W. B. Bancroft, C. C. Bateman, M. E. S. 
Brooks, Cora Chase, Jna D. Coolbrith, Julia P. Churchill, Mary E. Cook, Alice 
Kingsbury Cooley, Bose S. Eigenbaum, Nellie B. Eyster, Marcella Fitzgerald, A. C. 
Frederick, Mary W. Glascock, Emma Hanson, Bertha Herrick, Alice G. Howard^ 
Mary A. Lambert, Evelyn Ludlum, Josephine Clifford McCrackin, Agnes Manning, 
Jane Martin, Jidiette E. Mathis, Carrie Blake Morgan, Anna C. Murphy, J. O. 
Newhall, Anna Morrison Beed, Mrs. Bomualdo Pacheco, Emily Broivn Powell, E. M. 
Shearer, Lillian H. Shuey, Mary O. Stanton, Charlotte P. Stetson, Maude Sutton, 
Bose Hartwick Thorpe, M. L. W. Towle, Frances F. Victor, Carrie Stevens Walter, 
Laura Lyons White, Kate Douglass Wiggin, Florence Williams, Virna Woods and 
others. 

A great change has came to pass since 1883, the date of the 
preceding article, in the position of women in San Francisto, in 
relation to writing for the press. Their articles are now signed 
in many cases, and thereby have an acquired value. In addition 
to the demand for their work, the women have organized them- 
selves into a society called the Pacific Coast Woman's Press 
Association. Within this circle, which includes journalists, 
authors and associate members, there are many notable women 
writers of the coast, though there are many still outside who 
have not yet joined their ranks. 



woman's press association. 383 

By the concentration of energy and consecutiveness of pur- 
pose of a few women, of whom the late Mrs. Emilie Tracy Y. 
Parkhurst was the chief worker, this association was placed upon 
a substantial foundation and seems destined to a long life. They 
have survived the ordeal of the making and approving of the 
constitution and by-laws, and also the period of adding amend- 
ments and clauses to fit all emergencies. 

Their annual meetings are seasons of entertainment to them- 
selves and their friends, and tickets of admission are eagerly 
sought. Their programmes are enjoyable, consisting of the best 
music, recitations and original papers on many themes. Their 
receptions, given at the Hotel Pleasanton, bring together bright 
minds, notables and clever people who like to be counted in. 
Perhaps, sometimes, the outside crowd is a little ungrateful, and 
sometimes the brothers of the press like to say witty things in 
the papers at their expense. Nevertheless this association has 
contributed in a great measure to a more kindly feelirg among 
the writers generally, and enabled them to become acquainted 
with each other, which process heretofore has seemed to be 
merely a matter of accident. 

To attempt to present in this volume anything more than a 
mention of some of these women writers of our coast would re- 
quire space that is not to be had within the limits of a chapter. 
I shall content myself, therefore, with certain names which are 
representative of the association, and trust that such as are 
omitted will recognize the fact that ' ' space is the criterion of 
modern literary prowess." 

An exhaustive account of the Pacific Coast Woman's Press 
Association was attempted for the purposes of this book by Miss 
Eliza Keith, but the material she gathered would have filled a 
volume in itself, and in despair at reducing all this to one chap- 
ter she abandoned the task. 

Therefore I present this chapter merely as representative of 
the Woman's Press Club, and use such pictures as, with great 
difficulty, I have obtained myself. 

A very remarkable young woman was the late Mrs. Park- 
hurst, whose organizing ability first drew together the nucleus from 
which grew the now prosperous association which is the subject 



384 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I.ITERATURE. 



of this chapter. She was quiet, reserved and moderate in man- 
ner and in speech, and yet she could bend people and circum- 
stances to her will, and accomplish the almost impossible. Her 
aspirations were so high that she was willing to wait until she 
had, like the tree in the forest, put forth great roots to sustain 
her in the time when she should branch forth, as she confidently 
hoped. She spent herself in detail work, in correspondence of 
the most remarkable order, in preliminaries and in organization. 
She devoted much of her time to encouraging other writers, and 
in establishing a " I^iterary Bureau " for the sale of manuscripts. 

There was one man confined 
in a State's Prison — a man ot 
ability and education, to 
whom she wrote faithfull)-, 
simply to cheer him and to 
encourage his literary efibrts, 
though she had never known 
nor seen him. 

She had marked talent in 
the branch of music. I re- 
member seeing her sit down 
to the piano at one of the 
entertainments of the associa- 
tion at Union-square Hall, 
MRS. EMKUK T. Y. PARKHURST. ^ud play the accompaui- 
ment for the great tenor Guille to sing. She had not even prac- 
ticed the song over with him and the music was of the most diffi- 
cult description. She did it beautifully. 

She was gifted in many ways. But there is little to bring 
forward as an exhibit of her quality of mind. I remember ask- 
ing her to give me something of her writing that would be like 
her, for I always felt that she was far superior to anything she 
had written. And then it was that she told me that she was not 
ready yet. That some day she would open her heart and say 
what was there, but the time had not yet come. 

I looked over manj'^ of her poems. Some of them were odd 
and shadowy, but the}' did not reveal the real woman. She 
wrote manj' newspaper articles, but they were mostly to order to 




woman's press association. 385 

suit the hour. She told me she had written a libretto to an 
opera founded on the novel " Raniona," and that it was being- 
set to music in the East. That seemed more like her. And she 
was meditating a novel which would embody ideas of reincarna- 
tion, suggested most strangely by her own experience while 
abroad, Versailles appearing to her as a place where she had once 
dwelt. 

So it is that we meditate and plan great things and then 
waste our vital force upon the trival things of the daily grind. 
It is conceded by all that Mrs. Parkhurst's devotion to others and 
unremitting, ceaseless brain toil, in spite of her delicacy of con- 
stitution, shortened her life and took her away just as she believed 
she had reached the place where she could begin to live for herself. 

She was the daughter of John Swett, who^has always been 
connected in San Francisco with education, and was one of the 
contributors to the old Pioneer Magazine . 

Mrs. Parkhurst was born in San PVancisco, March, 1863, 
and died April 21, 1892, leaving a little daughter. 

In a sketch written by Callie Bonney Marble, she says : 

Mrs. Parkhurst is of medium height, slender, and with a sweet womanly 
face, lovely in the soul that shines through mirthful eyes of ever changing hue. 
A woman who lives for something higher than mere conventional forms and 
aims, a true friend and sympathetic helper. 

The following stanzas of Mrs. Parkhurst are here quoted : 

Only here where watch I'm keeping:. 

Finds the soul a peace unbroken. 

And a comfort all unspoken 
In the garden of the sleeping. 

DEATH OF DAY. 

The quiet, patient breast of Mother Earth 

Seems to call my tired soul to x'est. 

Dimness obscures the world from vale to crest. 
I close my eyes and wait a new day's birth. 

I stand abashed before thy meed of praise. 
What have I done to soothe thy troubled days? 
What can I do to fill thy aching needs? 
Ah me! that I might give not words, but deeds. 

— Emelie Traey Y. FarkhursL 



;86 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Mrs. Nellie Blessing Eyster is such a dear, sweet soul that 
criticism falls disarmed before her. She has written many bright 

stories for Harper' s and other 
Eastern magazines, containing 
personal reminiscences of the 
war times and notable men of 
that period. She has written 
also many newspaper articles 
for Californian journals, 
stories for the Overland and 




Illustrated Californian^ and 
several volumes which have 
been brought out in the East, 
the last entitled "A Colonial 
Boy." 

Her temperance lectures on 
the subject of the "House 
Beautiful and the Man Won- 
MRS. NELLIE BLESSING EYs lER. dcrful" havc also made her well 
known to the public. Mrs. Eyster is a native of Frederic, Md. 

Mrs. Alice Kingsbury-Cooley is still the same energetic, 
brimful-of-business, little woman that she was in the days when 
she wrote for the Golden Era and modeled her babies as Cupids. 
Her last work, "Asaph," is a picture of historical times when 
children were sacrificed to Moloch. The character of " Asaph " 
is beautifully drawn, and the devotion of the mother who saved 
him from the sacrifice by proclaiming that her child was the fruit 
of dishonor, could have been born only of a mother's brain. 
The chapter on the lion hunt is vivid and strong, and the pre- 
vailing undercurrent of the story seems to be in favor of a pure 
religious belief, shorn of all forms and ceremonies. 

It is curious that she should have written such a book. I 
asked her how it was that she should have lived in California all 
these years, since 1866 or thereabouts, and be thinking about 
Palestine and Moloch and those unnatural times, instead of the 
grand pageant before her, and the new times and new people, 
and the historic period in which we are now living. And she 
said : " Well, I lived in a lonesome place in Berkeley, away from 



woman's press association. 



387 



everybody, with the children growing up around me — and you 
know I had twelve in all — and I never saw California. I don't 
know anything about it. I just lived in my mind — and if I hadn't 
— well, I don't know what would have become of me." 

Mrs. Kingsbury-Cooley was born in Bristol, England, and 
came to the United States at 9 years of age. In the early 
days she was celebrated for her impersonation of "Fanchon," 
and only a year ago gave her farewell in that part, her son acting 
as the father of " lyandry," her lover. She danced the " shadow 
dance " with her old-time vim, and brought a thrill to those who 
realized that the " Elfin Star " was now a grandmother, and yet 
could never grow old. 

Mrs. Mary O. Stanton is a woman of singular bent of mind. 
When her volume, " How to Read Faces," first made its appear- 
ance, it was looked on with 
curiosity. Curiosity led to 
investigation, and investiga- 
tion to entertainment. As 
there is nothing half so de- 
lightful as that which appeals 
to our egoism, so her book be- 
came a volume of more inter- 
est than the very best novel. 
' ' My eyes, " " my nose, ' ' ' 'my 
disposition " and " my pecul- 
iarities " became the topic of 
conversation at once, upon the 
entering of this book, " How 
to Read Faces," into the household. It was brimful of ideas, and 
many of them startling — a handy, compact volume, in which it 
was easy to find the place. 

Since then there has been issued a new edition, extended 
and enlarged. Years of work show their traces in this great 
compendium, and for the scientific student it is exceedingly valu- 
able. But in a spirit of loving the old things best, we look back 
on the handy one volume and proclaim it still the best book of 
the kind ever gotten up. 

The new edition is entitledl" Stanton's Practical and Scien- 




MRS. MARY O. STANTON. 



388 



CAWFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



tific Physiognomy, or How to Read Faces." In consists of a 
handsome royal octavo of two volumes, 600 pages each, and con- 
tains the only complete system of physiognomy in existence, 
embracing the greatest discoveries of the age in physical science. 
It has been translated into European languages and is to be ob- 
tained in all the book centers of the world. 

Mrs. Stanton was born in Connecticut, and has lived in Cali- 
fornia since the early days. Her industry and research mark her 
work as most extraordinary in comparison with that of the other 
woman writers of the State. 

Mrs. Stanton is a woman of bright, keen mind — broad and 
liberal. To sit at her feet and hear her discourse on man and 
Nature opens closed cells in the brain. She is also gifted with a 
sense ot humor that vivifies every tale she has to tell. 

A brief quotation is here given from the volume mentioned : 

The scientific mind pierces the veil of sham, fraud and delusion — of mir- 
acle, mystery and wonder — ard reveals the truth in all its power and beauty. 

— Mary 0. Stanton. 

Miss Eliza Keith, who writes under the pen-name of " Di 

Vernon," is a typical Cali- 
fornian girl. She is a 
teacher in the public school 
as well as a writer for the 
press, and her industry is 
equalled only by the cour- 
age of her convictions. It 
does not seem to me that 
she does justice to herself, 
however. The brightness 
of her mind is much more 
displayed in her conversa- 
tion than her writing ; in- 
deed, on the rostrum I have 
heard her approach elo- 
q u e n c e in proclaiming 
the necessity for patriotism 
ELIZA D. KEITH. ^^ ^^ taught in the public 

schools. Behind the beautiful pink of her cheek and the blue of 




woman's press association. 



389 



ber eye their flashes a spirit of intelligence and daring that 
marks her with an individuality which belongs to herself alone. 
She says of herself that she has written "for the San Francisco 
papers miles of space articles unsigned. ' ' Her best-known work 
is the "Snap Shots" department in the San Francisco News 
Letter, and her weekly letters on Californian matters to the Bos- 
ton Journalist. She was born in San Francisco. 

Mary I^ynde Hoffman-Craig wrote for the early Overland 
when it was in its palmy days. She has since contributed to 
^Eastern papers and magazines. 
In connection with the Woman's 
Press Association she wrote a 
monograph entitled " County 
Roads and City Streets. ' ' This 
was printed and sent in every 
quarter where it seemed expe- 
dient. Kmeline North trans- 
lated it into the Swedish tongue, 
and it was distributed through- 
out Sweden, Norway and the 
Danish capitals to the officials. 

-Kir TT iX r\ • \, 1 MARY LYNDE HOFFMAN-CRAIG. 

Mrs. Hoffman-Craig has also 

written an article on ' ' Taxation on Municipal Bonds. ' ' The 
working of her mind has led her during the past few years to 
take up the study of law, and when only half through the 
Hastings College of Law she did enough extra work to enable 
her successfully to pass the Supreme Court examination, of which 
she is justly proud. She is of Revolutionary descent and con- 
nected with Sequoia Chapter of the Society of Revolutionary 
Daughters. 

As a quotation from Mrs, Craig is presented the following : 

Last of all we come upon a mass of orange and gold. It is the Ezch- 
echoltzia Cahfornica. Both foliage and flower are indescribably pretty. In buds 
the Eschscholtzia loosely twists her petals as a maiden might twist her hair. Then 
over the twist she wears a conical cap of green. When coaxed assiduously by 
sunshine and by rain, she throws off this inverted calyx, this conical cap, and 
makes a display of bloom so gorgeous that both hill and vale look glad. Not 
music suggesting halls of mirth, not fountains showering diamonds and pearls, 
not the gaily dressed throng speaking from the heart variously, have power to 




390 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

draw our attention from "Our Poppy," "Our Blossom of the Gold," that has 
matched the " Glory of Earth with the Glory of Heaven," the State ilower of 
California. — Mary Lynde /Joffman-Craig. 

Adeline E. Kuapp is a hard- worker in the departments that 
fall to her share in the San Francisco Ca//. Though she has been 
a late-comer to California, she enters into the spirit of the Woman's 
Press Association and is a strong element among the members 
who compose the clut. She is a good speaker on the platform 
and a good writer on the topics of the day. She has not yet 
mellowed into that state where she can rise above her personal 
prejudices, but aiming at becoming a "Free L,ance," is the 
apostle of her own pet theories. Miss Knapp is a native of 
Buffalo, N. Y. 

Of her, Miss Keith says : 

Over her omii signature, as well as that of "Miss Russell," she writes a 
weekly article on some current topic, portrays some characteristic type, some odd 
bit of human nature, some unfamiliar stretch of country, or espouses the cause of 
the poor and oppressed. Her latest labors have been in behalf of the poor 
children who are forced to labor in the mills and factories. " The Cry of the 
Children" will be heard. 

Charlotte Perkins Stetson is a real genius in her line. While, 
like Miss Knapp, she is a new-comer to California, yet she is in 
our midst and growing up with the country, and must be given 
some earthl}' abiding place. The Californian heart is as large as 
the country and takes in all who come here to dwell, irrespective 
of such an accidental factor as place of birth. There is a fascin- 
ation about Mrs. Stetson which is hard to analyze. She is abso- 
lutely at variance with all the principles of Delsarte, as rigid as a 
nun in her sackcloth and ashes, and yet has that same qualit}- of 
attraction that belongs to the habited devotee. In reciting her 
poems, many of them polished gems in their beauty and as flinty 
as the precious stone in feeling, one is drawn by a fascination 
most peculiar. In summing it all up, we find that it is the in- 
tegrit)^, the honesty, the absolute sincerit)' of the woman which 
impresses us so. Her prevailing motive of thought in writing is 
to teach and to help people to live. Her work has not yet ap- 
peared in book form, but it contains some remarkable poems,. 



woman's press association. 



391 



chief among which are " The Rock and the Sea," "An Obstacle," 
"The Butterfly Who Tried to Go Back and Be a Chrysalis," and 
a poem entitled "Similar Cases," a satire on those denying the 
fact that evolution is in process now as well as in past ages. 
Mrs. Stetson was born in Hartford, Conn. 

Emily Browne Powell, who 
now occupies the position of 
President of the Woman's 
Press Association, is the writer 
of many" dainty bits of verse, 
full of sympathy, pretty fan- 
cies, or of patriotism, which 
have been widely copied 
throughout the journals of the 
country. She was born in 
Waldo county, Maine, of Pur- 
itan ancestry. Men of her 
blood fought for liberty in 
every war that the country has 
had. For the picturing qual- 
ity of Mrs. Powell's verse is 
here given the poem entitled 

^ EMILY BROWNU POWEI<L. 




A gray rock towering by the water-side. 
The low lap, lap, of the advancing tide — 
A sun-browned cliild, weary and wistful-eyed. 

Along the ripples sea-birds curve and dip ; 

From the blue distance comes a home-bound ship, 

Out through the far-ofi" mist-gates white sails slip. 

A fishing boat rocks idly to and fro. 

Along the sands the fishers come and go. 

Hark! on the wind, tlie sailors' "Yo! heave oh!" 



Oh, homesick shell ! Thy low, imprisoned roar 
Brings back the sounding sea, the clifT-walled shore. 
And the dear home that I may see no more ! 

— Emily Browne PowelL 



392 



CAI.IFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



' California Sunshine " is the title of the collection of verse 

which bears the impress of the 
mind of Lillian Hinman Shuey. 
She is one of the few writers who 
has no other skies than those of 
California, for, though having 
been born in Illinois, she spent 
her bab^'hood here and grew to 
maturit)' in this atmosphere. 
She has imbibed something from 
the air and the winds and the soil 
that weaves through all she 
writes like a golden thread. Her 
quartrain on California is here 




T.ILIJAX HIXMAN SHUKS". 



presented : 



CALIFORNIA. 



Sown is the golden grain, planted the vines. 
Fall swift, O loving rain I Lift prayer, O pines I 
O green land, O gold land, fair land by the sea ! 
The trust of thy children reposes in thee. 

From the poem entitled "On the San Joaquin " the follow- 
ing extract is made : 

O gentle skies, so blue above 
The valley of my leal and love, 
Thou'rt ever fair, though burnished clear, 
Or hung with rain-clouds drooping near. 

On thy horizon, far and fine. 
The mountains stand in dim outline. 
"Whence rivei-s slow descend to keep 
Their long, strong currents to the deep. 

Page after page of this dainty volume reveals picture and 
beart and soul of California as Mrs. Shuey sees it and feels it, 
and that is with a true poet's eye. While she has a thoughtful 
mood, \-et it is always brightened and vivified with hope and 
cheerlulness. Her desire is to lift the shadows and make the 
place brighter for her coming. Here is a poem from the Over- 
land entitled 



woman's press association. 393 

IX THE REDWOOD CANYONS. 

Down in tlie redwood canyons, cool and deep, 
The shadows of the forest ever sleep. 
The odorous redwoods, wet with fog and dew, 
Touch with the bay and mingle witli the yew. 
Under the firs the red madrono shines, 

The graceful tan oaks, fairest of them all, 
Lean lovingly unto the sturdy pines, 

In whose far tops the whistling bhie-birds call. 

Here where the forest shadows ever sleep, 
The mountain lily lifts its chalice white, 
The myriad ferns hang draperies soft and light 

Thick on each mossy bank and watered steep, 
Where slender deer tread softly in the night, 

Down in the redwood canyons dark and deep. 

— Lillian H. Shuey. 

As a girl at school in Sacramento, I remember her essays, 
which were most unusual for their imagination and delicate 
fanc5\ She is growing year by year mentally, and when she 
publishes her next volume I prophesy- it will contain some strong 
work, worthy of remembrance, and that will obtain recognition. 
Two editions of the "California Sunshine" have been sold, 
which would seem to saj'' that already has her verse reached the 
heart of the public. One of her latest poems appears in the col- 
lection called "Readings from Californian Writers," made by 
Edmund Russell. It is strong and fine, and makes a cathedral 
picture of " Mendocino." 

Mrs. Shuey is a cousin of Anson Burlingame, who made the 
first treaty with China, and is of Revolutionary descent. 

" The Amagnis, a Lyrical Drama " (issued by the Chautau- 
qua Century Press), is the work of Virna Woods, a school-teacher 
of Sacramento City and a daughter of California. It is a remark- 
able production, and places Miss Woods at one bound up near 
the top of the ladder, and second only to Miss Coolbrith in the 
possession of the truly poetic, musical gift that makes the cold 
printed words resolve themselves into harmonies. 

Of this work, George Hamlin Fitch says : 

This little drama is as beautiful in its reflection of Greek life as is 
Matthew Arnold's " Empedocles on Etna," while in its treatment of love it is 



394 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 




essentially modern. Any lover of good poetry will read with pleasure this little 
book, which is far above the average of current verse. 

The Chicago Eveni7ig 
Journal says : 

The facility of versification, as 
well as the sense of melody dis- 
played, make of the entire closing 
scene nothing less than a lyrical 
triumph. 

An extract from this 
poem, or series of poeins, 
may be found in the collec- 
tion of verse entitled 
"Readings from Califor- 
nian Writers." 

The author of "Aegle 
and the Elf," an exquisite 
poem, exquisitely i 1 1 u s - 
trated and bound in the 
highest st3^1e of the art, is 
Besides this favorite volume, 

she has issued from time to time a number of other books ot 

verse, mostly in the form of 

metrical narrative, entitled as 

follows : "Stella, the little In- 
dian Child," "Sir Rae," 

"Onti Ora," "Iris," " Ku- 

dora," "The Inca Princess," 

"Laymone," "The Legend 

of Tisayac- Yo Semite ' ' and 

"Atlini." Mrs. Toland has 

great facility in weaving 

pretty stories into verse, and 

has invented some new metres, 

especially that used in " Lay- 

mone." This last is a quaint 

tale of the Mission Indian girl, who, in search of her pet deer, 

finds a wild Indian about to slay it. He asks her about the 



VIRNA WOODS. 



Mary Bertha McKenzie Toland. 




M.\RY BKRTHA McKKNZIE TOLAND. 



woman's press association. 395 

padres and the church, and she answered in pretty, romantic style, 
finally bringing him in to the Mission, and having the good 
Junipero Serra christen him and then pronounce the blessing of 
the church over them. Each stanza carries the thread of the story, 
so that the poems of Mrs. Toland do not lend themselves to quo- 
tation. She is not epigrammatic nor inclined to figures of 
speech, but the flow of the story is always smooth and graceful. 
She evades all moralizing, as her object is simply to entertain. 
Mrs. Toland is a native of Maine, but has lived in California 
since very early times. All the proceeds of her books she gives 
away to charity. 

Anna Morrison Reed has published two volumes of verse, 
containing the work of her earlier years. But she has produced 
her best work since then, and 
will continue to weave her dainty 
verses with greater skill and 
grace as the years go on, for the 
reason that she has not reached 
her limitation, but is now in a 
process of growth. 

She has been the favorite of \ / 

the public since her fifteenth 
year, when she went upon the 
lecture stand and addressed audi- 
ences with a naive courage that "~-^2L=,i.-^'^ 
was remarkable. She has a rich, ^^^na morrison reed. 
sweet nature, full of sympathy, and from her extended experi- 
ence has developed breadth of mind, which is her best quality. 
In regard to indulging in petty revenge for the meannesses in- 
flicted by small natures, she says, "I have no time for resent- 
ment." Mrs. Reed is connected with the California Commission 
for the Columbian Exposition, being appointed from Mendocino 
County to represent the most northern district of the State. The 
following poem is here quoted as indicative of her style of writ- 
ing : 

SUNSET. 

The evening's genius, with his sword of flame, 
Guards well the portal of the dying day. 




396 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 



His lance of light he strikes against the hills, 
Upon the highest breaks his glancing ray. 
He marshals grandly on a crimson sea 
His cloudship navy's golden argosy, 
Whose flaunting banner, in the sunset glow, 
Bids brave defiance to the dark'ning foe, 
Who, swift advancing, o'er him softly flings 
The purple shadow of the twilight's wings, 
Till war's red flush, before the night wind's breath, 
Fades out into the sullen gray of death. 
And star-eyed night, prevailing all too soon. 
Hangs out the silver sickle of the moon. 

— Anna Morrison Reed. 



Ivilliaii Plunkett is one of the verse-writers of the Woman's 

Press Association, and has many 
a pretty fancy or timely conceit in 
the journals of the day. The 
following sketch is contributed 
by D. S. Richardson : 




LILLIAN PLUNKETT. 



No review of Californian writers 
would be complete which should omit 
the name of one who has won deserved 
recognition both as a writer of graceful 
verse and vigorous prose. Most of Mrs. 
Plunkett's work has appeared during 
the past few years in the journals of the 
day, but has never been collected into 
book form. 
Her verse is characterized by a sprightly "go" which makes most pleasant 

reading, and her range of subjects is wide. She is equally felicitious, whether 

playing with the foibles of society or dealing with the graver problems of life. 

Many of her songs and reflective poems show deep insight into the human heart 

and a steady love of Nature shines through them all. 

"The Good-bye Kiss," which is here quoted," may be given as a sample 

of her lighter verse, this poem having been widely copied both by the journals 

of this country and of England. 



THE GOOD-BYE KISS. 



A kiss he took and a backward look. 
And her heart grew suddenly Itghter; 

A trifle, you say, to color the day, 

Yet the dull gray morn seemed brighter. 



woman's press association. 397 

For hearts are such that a tender touch 

May banish a look of sadness ; 
A small, slight thing may make us sing, 

But a frown will check our gladness. 

The cheeriest ray along our way 

Is the little act of kindness, 
And the keenest sting some careless thing 

That was done in a moment of blindness. 
We can bravely face life in a home where strife 

No foothold can discover. 
And be lovers still, if we only will. 

Though youth's bright days are over. 

Ah, sharp as swords cut the unkind words 

That are far beyond recalling. 
When a face lies hid 'neath the coffin-lid 

And bitter tears are falling, 
We fain would give half the lives we live 

To undo our idle scorning. 
Then let us not miss the smile and kiss 

When we part in the light of morning. 

. — Lillian Plunkett. 

Under the name of " Ada L, Halstead " Mrs. J. M. Newman 
has written a number of novels of varying excellence, on the order 
of Augusta Evans' novels. They 
relate to the South in their local 
color and contain some very in- 
teresting pages. ' ' Hazel Verne, ' ' 
"The Bride of Infelice," "Am- 
ber ' ' and others have been suc- 
cessfully sold. 

The Woman's Press Associa- 
tion is still a very young institu- 
tion. Its best work is yet to 
come, and the promise for the 
future is found in the superior "ada l. halstead." 

quality of the literary effort put forth by its members since its 
inception. Mutual encouragement and congenial association, 
with all the feminine sympathies they awaken, have done much 
to call out that class of thought which, while latently forceful, 
yet unassisted, timidly struggles for expression. The ranks of 




398 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

its membership are constantly increasing, and before many years 
the association promises to become one of the most imposing 
literary organizations in America. 




WOJVTEH WHITENS OF SOUTHEt^jSl 

cfliiipoHNifl- 



In the southern part of California is growing up a distinct school 
of writers. The tendency to decry San Francisco's fogs, winds 
and sandhills, which prevailed in the days of the Hesperian in 
1857, has not in the least abated. Los Angeles is now raising 
her own "feminine plants of literature," and takes great pride 
in them. The women have invaded journalism, and successfully, 
in that beautiful land of the orange and olive. 

The following sketch of the woman-writers of Southern 
California has been contributed to the Story of the Fii.ES by 
Emma Leckle Marshall : 

Jeanne C. Carr of Pasadena has been and is a prominent educationist, and 
for twenty years has been a contributor, mostly on educational subjects, to the 
standard magazines of the country. The following is an extract from a private 
letter and expressive of her personality. 

" Our early successes in education were in the East, and largely (at least I so 
regard them) in opening the higher institutions to women, and in developing 
practical training for after visefulness as a leading part of the higher education, 

" The history of philanthropy has no such illuminated pages as those fur- 
nished by the present century.'* 

Alice Moore McComas of Los Angeles is prominently connected with all 
works pertaining to the progress and benefit of womankind, is president of the 
Woman's Suffrage Club of Los Angeles, and was largely instrumental in securing 
to the city of Los Angeles one of its finest parks. She has been identified for 
several years with various newspapers, both as an editorial and space writer. 
She has written many charming essays and poems, and is associate editor of 
the Pacific Household Journal. 

"The old expression "Brave men and pure women " should become obselete, 
and in its stead we should have " Brave men and brave women, pure men and 
pure women." 



4CX) CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Mrs. Mary C. Bowman of Los Angeles, for several years one of the editors 
and proprietors of the Santa Paula Chronicle, is a vigorous champion of women, 
and was one of the two lady charter members of the Southern California Editorial 
Association. 

" Why will women allow their impulses to get the advantage of their 
really sound judgment and natural good sense?" 

Miss Louise A. Off of Los Angeles, editor of the New Californian, a 
magazine devoted to Psychology and Theosophy, published in Los Angeles^ 
though a young woman, is a brilliant writer and eminently fitted by educatioa 
and study to fill the difficult editorial position she holds. 

"Every true artist carries within the depth of his soul a creed, which, 
though not exactly Apostolic, is to him a sacred and satisfying condition." 

" We believe that there is but one Eternal Truth, having many aspects, 
and that every honest mind reflects one of them, like the numerous facets of one 
precious stone." 

Mrs. Mary Harte, secretary of the Southern California Science Society 
Association, was at one time one of the proprietors and editors of the Pacific 
Monthly, a literary magazine published in Los Angeles. She has been promi- 
nently identifled with the science and historical societies of Southern California, 
and has furnished much statistical matter for the various journals. Mrs. Harte 
is now connected with the Historical Exhibit of the California Commission in 
Chicago. 

Mrs. Burton Williamson is a well-known authority on conchology, and 
her writings and lectures on this subject have been full of interest and informa- 
tion. She is also an enthusiastic member of the Historical Society of Southern 
California. 

"There are some women fitted by nature to do the honors, so io speak, but 
the ones who do the work are they of whom little is seen, less heard, but much 
expected." 

Mrs. Eliza A. Otis is one of the most prolific writers of the age, and 
poetry, description, pathos and comedy seem to roll with like ease from her facile 
pen. She is one of the principal writers on the staff of the Los Angeles Times. 

"Perfect character is a thing of growth, and there are many things that 
are essential to its formation. 

" Drudgery and poverty and disappointment are sometimes the chisel held 
by the divine sculptor to chip away what is shapeless and imperfect and unsightly 
in the human character, and by means of which it is molded into beauty and 
perfectness." 



WOMEN WRITERS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 40I 

Miss Anna C. Murphy of Los Angeles is a young writer, but her stories 
and descriptive articles in the standard magazines of the country have attracted 
considerable attention. She will be better known in the near future. 

" Here are river galleries hung close with copies from Nature." 

Jessie Benton Fremont of Los Angeles, whose name, blending with that of 
her brave soldier husband, is music to the ears of every old Californian, 
is a lively character, a charming companion and a graceful writer. There 
is no name better known in the Pacific States, and her pen has delighted scores 
of readers in every State with the magic power of reminiscence and descriptions. 

Madge Morris of San Diego is the wife of Harr Wagner, a well-known 
educationist and writer. At present she is the editor of the Golden Era, which 
was the first literary paper published on the Coast and which was moved to San 
Diego about seven years ago. Madge Morris is a prolific writer, and some of her 
gems of verse are known far and wide. She has written novels, stories and 
poetry for many periodicals. 

See poem "The Wheat of San Joaquin" in September Californian. I 
think that characteristic. 

Clara Spaulding Brown of Los Angeles has for years been a contributor 
to the best Pacific Coast publications. She is authority on matters pertaining 
to horticultural interests, and a thoughtful yet vigorous writer. 

" There is need of a more intelligent motherhood." 

" No one is quicker than a child to detect injustice, or more easily helped 
by an encouraging word." 

Dorothea Lummis is a practicing physician in Los Angeles, and a wide- 
awake, progressive, brilliant woman. She has gained a wide reputation by her 
satirical writings and quaint stories. She is a student of human nature, and 
faithfully depicts the result of her studies. She has contributed to the best 
periodicals in the country and every line she writes is read with interest. 

Mrs. Enderline of Los Angeles is one of the finest descriptive writers of 
Southern California, and the dainty souvenir brochures she has gotten up 
descriptive of some of the charming spots of that section are perfect gems in 
their way. Her writing may truly be styled pen painting. 

Rose Hartwick Thorpe of San Diego is probably not so well known as is 
her famous poem, " Curefew Shall not Ring To-night." She has written many 
charming bits of verse, and is also a writer of pleasing stories. She has a quiet, 
dignified presence and an attractive personality. 

Mrs. Caroline M. Severance of Los Angeles, is a vigorous writer, and has 
been a prominent and untiring worker in all matters of progress and public benefit; 
she is thoroughly identified with all the good works of the city. She is president 



402 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I.ITERATURK. 

of the Woman's Exchange Association, and an active worker for its advantage. 
Mrs. Severance was a colaborator with Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony in pre- 
preparing their work on " Woman Suffrage." 

Mrs. M. F. C. Hall-Wood, for years one of the editors of the Santa 
Paula daily Independent, is a stirring editorial and a graceful descriptive writer. 
She has published a dainty volume of poems that are as charming as a breeze 
from the sea whence she drew her inspiration. " Camilla K. von K." is the pen 
name of Mrs. Hall-Wood. 

The following poem from her writings is here quoted : 

ESCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNICA 

O the rose garden, the garden 

Of the roses, of roses alone. 
Fair is it, rare is it, yet in my garden 

A daintier blossom has blown : 
A flower of the South and of the Sun, 

Sown upon limitless plains, 
Fed by the death of the summer grasses. 

Watered by winter rains. 

When the wild spring streams are running, 

She raises her head and cries, 
" Blow ofT my emerald cap, good wind. 

And the yellow hair out of my eyes ! " 
And a fair, fine lady she stands. 

And nods to the dancing sea ; 
O the rose you have trained is a lovely slave. 

But the wild gold poppy is free ! — Camilla K. von K. 

Mrs. Elizabeth A. Lawrence is a contributor to various papers which are 
radical in their character, and her writings are strong and to the point. She is 
at present engaged in writinfi a poem on Southern California for the Southern 
California World's Fair Association. 



R GbUVlPSE OF CAliipOt^HlAH 
JOUt^HfllilSJVI. 

The Alta Califor7iia, The Califor7iia Demokrat, The Abend- 
Post, The Eve7iing Bulletin, The Morning Call, The Weekly 
Monitor, The American Flag, The Evening Report, The Exam- 
iner, The Chro7iicle, The Eveiiivg Post and many more. 

From a chapter entitled " A Glimpse of Californian Journal- 
ism," by Alice Denison Wiley, written in 1885 and published in 
the Golden Era Magazine, the following is quoted : 

Newspapers mirror the civilization of the communities of their time. 
Looking over the first files of tlie Alia Californian, published in 1846, it ?eems, 
indeed, a magic mirror which has faithfully retained its reflections. One almost 
feels that the imposing buildings on Kearny, Montgomery and Sansome streets 
have vanished, and in their stead lie great hills of white sand, through which 
the weary pioneer wades, or the more independent Mexican spurs his spirited 
citballo. 

The first paper, size 8x12, was published in Monterey. It bears the 
motto, " Evils from ignorance ; remedies from knowledge." It was a quaint 
sheet, one side Spanish, the other English. It contained principally mining 
news and long advertisements, almost entirely unpunctuated. It was printed on 
tissue paper, wrapping paper, chocolate brown, magazine blue and yellow, and 
was undoubtedly well patronized and liked, no matter what the color was, nor 
how often the hues were changed. 

While it is impossible to present a history of these many 
changes of newspaperdom for forty years or more, and have each 
detail absolutely correct, the following is traced in order to make 
a general presentation of the daily papers which have survived 
the longest. The newspaper people themselves, when written to 
upon the subject, took very little interest in the matter, so that 
if the details are not quite correct, it is hoped, under the circum- 
stances, that the general idea of classification will meet with 
approval. 



THE flliTfl CALiipORfilfl. 

1849=1891. 

EDITOJ^S: 

E. C. Kemble, B. C. Hubbard, Loring Pickering, George K. Fitch, Frederick 
McCreUish, Samuel Seabough, John P. Irish and others. 

COflTIBOTOl^S : 

3fark Twain, Prentice Midford, Olive Harper, Jennie H. Phelps. 

By the kind permission of Charles Frederick Holder of the 
Ilhistrated Calif omian Magazijie, extracts have been made from an 
article entitled "The Press of San Francisco," written by James 
Prentiss Cramer for the May number of that periodical, 1892. 

Forty-five years ago, on January 7, 1847, the California Star was founded 
by Samuel Brannan, with Dr. E. P. Jones as editor. It was a weekly of four 
pages, sixteen by twelve inches, four columns to the page. This was the first 
newspaper printed in San Francisco. On May 22d of the same year, the Califor- 
nian appeared, also a weekly of the same dimensions as the Star. Robert Semple 
was the editor. Prior to the appearance of the Californian in San Francisco it 
had been issued in Monterey, then capital of the State, issuing its initial number 
in August, 1846. The type and press used on the Californian were brought from 
the City of Mexico originally for printing the laws of the then Mexican Govern- 
ment of California, and falling into disuse, they were resurrected from a Spanish 
cloister by the owners of the Californian. In May, 1848, the entire staff of tlie 
/S^ior went to the "diggings," and a few weeks later the Californian issued an 
extra, stating that "the whole country resounded with the sordid cry of gold, 
gold, and that they (meaning the staff — editors, compositors, devil and all) were 
off for the " diggings." The editors returning soon revived their respective jour- 
nals, which very soon after were merged into the Star and Californian, and Janu- 
ary 4, 1849, the Star and Californian was merged into the Alta California, with E. 
C. Kemble and R. C. Hubbard as editors. In December, 1849, the Alta issued 
a tri-weekly edition, and about a month later appeared as a daily. Almost from 
Its inception the Alta met with revei:ses, being burned out twice, and after one of 
the fires it was obliged to issue on letter-sheet paper for three days. After sev- 
eral changes in editorial management and proprietorship, it passed into the 



% 



4o6 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I,ITERATURE. 

hands of Messrs. Pickering, Fitch & Co., former owners of the Times. In May, 
1858, they sold it to Frederick McCrellish & Co., who continued its publication 
for a quarter of a century. At this time there occurred in the history of Sau 
Francisco an event which has had in its effect on history no parallel in the 
annals of any other city in the Union. This was the formation of the Committee 
of Vigilance. The causes which led up to this dramatic outbreak of outraged 
public opinion are too well known to need recapitulation here ; suffice it to say 
that the men who then arose and in the name of the people took into their own 
hands for a short time the enforcement and execution of the law assumed a 
heavy responsibility, but future events proved that the occasion demanded just 
such measures and just such men. The press of San Francisco at that time was 
in a very peculiar position — to oppose the Vigilantes meant ruin if they were 
npheld by the people ; to uphold them meant ruin if they were successfully 
opposed by the men whom they were determined to drive out of power. 

The Herald, then the most popular and powerful journal in the city, was 
bitterly opposed to the Vigilantes. The Alta, on the ether hand, strongly in- 
dorsed them, saying editorially : " The time has come (referring to the murder in 
cold blood of James King of William, editor of the Bulletin, by Casey, whose 
criminal record he had exposed) to stop such outrages. 

The Olohe in the meantime was on the fence, but descended on the side of 
the Vigilantes on the day following the formation of the committee. 

The Herald continued to be aggressive, and the leading business men of the 
city, almost in a procession, marched to the office of the paper and discontinued 
their advertisements and subscriptions. This drove the Herald to the wall and 
it was forced first to reduce its size and finally to suspend publication entirely. 
It was revived again in 1869, but soon went the way of many another journal 
whose career had been one of " pocket politics " to that bourne whence no news- 
paper ever returns. 

The Alia received the patronage of the business men who had withdrawn 
from the Herald, and entered upon a season of prosperity which extended over 
many years. It ceased to exist about 1891. 



"^M»^- 



THH CfllilFOHrllH DEJVIOI^t^flT (German). 

1853—1893. 

FOTJr*DEl?S flflD EDITORS: 
Dr. Von Loehr, Frederick Hess, M. Gruenblatt. 

The California Demokrat (German) is the oldest daily now 
in existence on this Coast, founded in 1853 by Dr. Von Loehr as 
editor and business manager. After varying fortunes the Demo- 
krat was, in 1858, bought by Mr. Frederick Hess, a mere lad of 
eighteen or so. He has continued to control the paper ever since. 
Dr. Von Loehr continued in editorial charge until 1877, when he 
died, and was replaced by Mr. M. Gruenblatt, who has continued as 
managing editor ever since. In 1853, when \)a& De7nokrat ^zs, 
founded, the German population of the State was estimated at 
fifty-three thousand and that of San Francisco at ten thousand. 
Now the Demokrat has an audience of one hundred and eighty- 
five thousand in the State and sixty thousand in the city, and it 
is an immense influence for good, not only amongst its own 
countrymen, but with all classes and nationalities. Mr. Hess has 
shown himself a man of great energy and ability, and has, by his 
business tact and perseverence, made a unique record for himself 
among newspaper men. Mr, Gruenblatt is a thorough newspaper 
man, and his wide-minded attitude on all questions of political 
and social, economy has had no small share in making the present 
prosperity of the Demokrat. 



THE ABEJP1D«P0ST (German). 

1859—1893. 

EDITOI^S RfiD PROPI^IETORS : 

La Fontaine, Adolph, Charles and Leon Samiiels. 

The Abend-Post (German) was founded as a daily in 1859 by 
Mr. L,a Fontaine. After many vicissitudes it passed into the 
hands of Messrs. Adolph, Charles and Leon Samuels, represent- 
ing the Post Compan}^ Under these gentlemen's energetic and 
conservative administration the paper has prospered and is to-day 
one of the most ably edited evening papers in the city. 




THE EVENING BUliLiETIfl. 

1855-1893. 
pOUfiDEt^S AflD PI^OPRIETOt^S : 

James King of William, Thomas S. King, John W. Simonton, George K 
Fitch, Loring Pickering. 

EDlTOI?S : 

Samuel Williams, James Nesbit, Matthew G. Upton, William Bartlett. 

Sarah B. Cooper, Emelie T. Y. Parkhurst, Sarah B. Cooper. 

The Evening Bulletin made a mark in journalism and turned 
the tide of affairs in this city. It was perhaps the most aggres- 
sive, fearless journal ever printed in San Francisco, considering 
the almost total lack of law and order in San Francisco at that 
time. In fact, the fearless course of the paper brought about a 
reformation, but the reformer lost his life. The Evening Bulle- 
tin first appeared on October 8, 1855. At the head of the edi- 
torial column was, "James King of William, Editor." Mr. 
King came from Washington, D. C, where he had been con- 
nected with the banking house of Riggs & Co., and also engaged 
in journalism with Amos Kendall of the Globe. 

The Bulletin was a success from the start and was enlarged 
three times in as many months. The paper is now a seven- 
column, four-page sheet, nineteen by twenty -six inches. Mr. 
King was a fearless newspaper man, and to his zeal exposing 
the corruption in local politics he owes the loss of his life. After 
the death of James King, his brother, Thomas S. King, assumed 
the management of the Bulletin in May, 1856, and continued 
as managing editor until he was succeeded by John W. Simon- 
ton. In June, 1859, George K. Fitch purchased an interest, and 
later Coring Pickering, and ever since they have controlled the 
Bulletin. 



4IO CALIFOKNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

Matthew G. Upton, chief editorial writer of the Bullelin, 
was born in Ireland and is about 65 years of age. He is a 
graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, studied medicine and law, 
and was admitted to the English bar. He came to the Ignited 
States when a young man and became a reporter and writer for 
New York papers. Coming to California in 1S52 under an agree- 
ment to conduct a Democratic paper in Sacramento, as an organ 
of the Douglas-Broderick wing of the part3\ He afterward 
worked on the San Francisco //<?;-a/af when Andrew J. Moulder 
was local editor. Mr. Upton became editor of the Alta and con- 
tituied in this position until about twenty years ago, when he 
resigned and entered the service of the .57^//^//« as editorial writer. 
Upton is a powerful writer and probably the ablest political and 
financial debater on the coast. 



-.^^ 



THE mof^NiNG Cfliiii. 

l8o6-lS93. 

PROPI^IHTORS AND MAflflGERS : 

Loring Pickering, George K. Fitch, James A. Simonton. 

EARUY EDITORS AJMD COriTt^ISUTORS : 

James J. Axjres, Daniel W. Higgins, Lew Zublin, Charles F. Jobson, William 
L. Carpenter, George E. Barnes, E. A. Bock-well, Frank Soule, Ja7nes S. Bowman, G. 
Ji. Densmore, William Bavsman, John Bonner, Peter B. Foster, W. H. Bhodes. 

EAt^LtlEST REPOJ?TEt?S: 

Edward Knight, Edward Pepper, Albert S. Evans, Sainuel Clemens {Mark Twain). 

JVIAfiAOI^iG EDITOt^S : 
George E. Barnes, A. B. Henderson, W. A. Boyce, Thos. E. Flynn, Ernest C. Stock. 

PRESEfiT EDITOI^IAU OlRITEf^S : 
G. B. Densmore, John Bonner, D. J. McRoberts. 

CITY EDITOnS: 

C. A. Crocker, W. K. McGrew, Frank A. Gross, Tommy Newcomb, S. F. 
Sutherland, H. G. Shaw, William S. Cameron, J. P. Cosgrave, Frank J. Ballinger, 
W. S. Dewey, Louis E. Whitcomb, Frank B. Millard. 

COfiTl^IBOTOI?S : 

Adeline Knapp, Charlotte Perkins Stetson, Einelie T. Y. Parkhurst, Lillian Plunkett. 

Of the English morning dailies of this year of grace, the Call 
is the oldest. It was founded on December i, 1856, by an associa- 
tion of printers, and made its debut as a four-page, twelve by 
twelve, four-column sheet. It grew quickly into favor, and when 
its success became assured, the names of Colonel James J. Ayres 
(now of the Los Angeles Daily Herald), David W. Higgins, Lew 



412 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND UTERATURE. 

Zublin, Charles F. Jobson and W. L,. Carpenter appeared as the 
proprietors of the paper, which owes its name to the playing of a 
farce at one of the local theaters, entitled " The Morning Call." 

In 1859 Messrs. Pickering, Fitch and Simonton became in- 
terested in the CaH, and IvOring Pickering, James W. Simonton 
and George K. Fitch have since controlled the paper. 

Mr. Pickering is the dean of journalism on this coast. He 
was an editor when most of the men now in editorial chairs of 
coast newspapers were unborn or in their cradle. Hs was of the 
day of men such as Gwin, Broderick, Fremont and McDougall, 
and he is of the men of to-day, still molding and voicing public 
opinion. A born journalist, he first saw the light in July, 18 12, 
in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and was a boy in his teens 
when he began writing for the Senfine/, published by John Pren- 
tiss. At 20 he sought the West, and lived successively in New 
Orleans, Louisville and St. Louis, and also in Illinois, where he 
engaged in mercantile pursuits. 

In 1846 he bought the Reporter and the Missoiirian, both 
published in St. Louis, subsequently founding the Union, which 
is to-day the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 

In 1849 Mr. Pickering arrived in California. He has bought 
and founded several journals, among others the Placer Times, 
which developed into the present Sacramento Times and Tran- 
script. In 1855 he became one of the owners and assumed the 
editorial management of the Alta California, which became, 
under his able administration, remarkably prosperous. His 
health failing him, Mr. Pickering was ordered by his medical 
adviser to Europe for a holiday. On his return, in i860, he be- 
came associated with Mr. Fitch and Mr. Simonton in the Call, 
and subsequently in the Bzdletin, retaining his interest in both 
papers to-day, but devoting all of his time to the editorial man- 
agement of the Call. For thirty years Mr. Pickering has had to 
deal with every question of importance that has arisen, and it is 
hardly necessary to say that his handling of them has entitled 
him to an undisputed claim to integrity, judgment and sagacity. 
Though a Democrat up to the war, Mr. Pickering became a Re- 
publican after the secession of the rebellious States, and has since 
remained with that political part3^ 



THE MORNING CALL. 413 

[Since the writing of this article, Loring Pickering has been 
numbered with those who have passed beyond. He died on the 
29th of December, 1892. — Ed.] 

Since the result of the recent election, which was brought 
about mostly by the influence of the Call, that paper has gained 
new strength and power throughout the community. George K. 
Fitch, the remaining partner, represents the conservative element 
in all his policies for the paper. Mr. Fitch now has the exclusive 
control of the Call as well as the Bulletin. 

Any sketch of San Francisco editors which should omit 
mention of George K. Fitch would be incomplete, therefore I 
take the liberty to add a paragraph to this otherwise admirable 
article. 

The reason that Deacon George K. Fitch is omitted from 
this sketch is because he pleasantly but firmly refused either to 
give his picture or to allow himself to be included. I do not say 
so because Mr. Cramer, the author of the sketch, has told me so, 
for I am not even acquainted with him, but simply because I 
know Mr. Fitch himself. And when I read the lines on Mr. 
Pickering and saw no space reserved for Mr. Fitch, a picture came 
vip before me. It was that of a gloomy newspaper office, a place 
where neither comfort nor appearances were considered. Ushered 
into a tiny place lighted only by a skylight, with the rain drip- 
ping through and making a wet spot upon the floor, unheeded 
and unconsidered, there sat a clerical gentleman, neat and prim. 
Not a hair was out of place, not a button-hole unmated to its 
button, his Prince Albert coat severely neat and irreproachable. His 
manner was pleasant, but reservedly cautious. Conservatism sat 
enthroned in this little room. I felt in the presence of power 
which masked itself behind republican simplicity and cunning. 
That man had his finger on the pulse of the public, and repre- 
sented that strange influence in the community which is so totally 
without fire or enthusiasm that it serves to act as a quencher upon 
every movement that springs from impulse. He represented 
resistence and weight and conservatism — elements as necessary to 
the carrying on of the world as progress and light, but more 
complex and mysterious. I had called to see if he would favor 
the presenting of a tax petition (signed by influential citizens) to 



414 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

the body of Supervisors, asking for an appropriation to make an 
exhibit of the city of San Francisco at the Columbian Exposition- 
It is needless to say that Mr. Fitch, this apothesis of conserva- 
tism, smiled pleasantly, but shook his head. 

His reasons were most excellent. I remember now how com- 
pletely I agreed with him. Nothing but personal pride and 
aflFection for my city, for I had been appointed as Commissioner 
to represent her at Chicago, enabled me to resist his logic. "A 
personal subscription," he said, blandly, "is the way to proceed 
most satisfactoril3^" I knew that was impossible, for it had 
alread}' been tried in vain. Then he advised that the idea be 
abandoned, for he could not conscientioush' favor the city's ap- 
propriating anything for an exhibit at Chicago while her finances 
were in their present condition. I had never met anyone before 
so mild and yet so resolute, so quavering and jj-et so made of steel. 
I admired the man exceedingly as a study, I thought I would 
like to count him in with " mj^ editors," and so, very mildly, I 
asked him for his permission to do so, and for the facts of a sketch. 
I knew, as he spoke, what his answer would be. He smiled, but 
shook his head. There was something cunning in his eye that 
made me long to ask, " How does it feel to feel the waj^ you do ? '^ 

When my friend and I arose to go he ushered us out so pleas- 
antly we almost thought we had won him over to favoring the ap- 
propriation for the city's exhibit at Chicago. But that was a 
thought not founded on fact. Other influence of the public spirit 
order was evoked from among those citizens possessing impulse 
and heart and pride of city, and through them the Supervisors 
were reached, barel}- at the last moment, and an appropriation 
made for the purpose of representing the harbor and the city, and the 
music, art, literature and industry of San Francisco at the Colum- 
bian Exposition. 

So, when I see that there is danger of Mr. Fitch being 
omitted from the place where his name belongs, and having no 
other data, I am compelled to fall back upon this personal 
reminiscence. 

William A. Bojce, managing editor of the Morning Call, 
has been engaged in newspaper work for twenty years. He is a 
native of New York, and came to California in 1S74. His first 



THE MORNING CALI.. 415 

newspaper connection on the Pacific Coast was as sub-editor of 
the Pacific Rural Press, and soon afterward he became connected 
with the Examiner, then an afternoon paper- I,ater he was em- 
ployed on the Chronicle, and in 1879 accepted a position on the 
local staff of the Morning Call. 

George E. Barnes, the dramatic critic of the Morning Call, 
is probably one of the best-known newspaper men on the Pacific 
Coast. He is a native of New Brunswick. When a boy he went 
to New York, where for several years he worked at the case, most 
of the time in the old Tribune office. He went to New Orleans 
early in the fifties. From the latter city he came to San Fran- 
cisco. In February, 1856, he purchased the interest of W. L. 
Carpenter in the Morning Call. The paper was a success from 
the start. The burden of the editorial work fell upon him, and 
he soon gained a reputation as a graceful and vigorous writer, 
which he still maintains. Mr. Barnes, after disposing of his in- 
terest in the paper to lyoring Pickering, was engaged for a time 
in mining, but soon returned to his chosen profession. 
He has been dramatic critic of the Call for many years, 
and it is conceded without question that in that department 
of journalism he is the peer of the best critics in this country 
or Europe. 

Gilbert B, Densmore, senior editorial writer of the Morning 
Call, is a native of Connecticut. He came to California in 1849, 
and most of the time since has been connected with journalism in 
this city. He was one of the founders and early editors of the 
Golden Era, a publication that numbered among its contributors 
the most gifted writers on the coast. It is nearly twenty years 
since Mr. Densmore penned his first editorial for the Call, and 
during that time not a day has passed that he has not contributed 
more or less to its columns. He writes equally well on all sub- 
jects, and there are few men in the country whose daily produc- 
tions maintain so equable a standard. 

The present city editor is Frank B. Millard, who has quite a 
fame in the East for his clever stories of Western life. His 
sketch may be found under the classification of the Argo7iatit 
School. 

The oldest in continuous service upon the stafif of the Call 



4l6 CAI^IFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

has been Krnest C. Stock, who has been with the journal since 
September 8, 1867. He was police reporter for twenty-one years, 
managing editor for five years, and is now connected with the 
city department. 

A strong literary impetus was given by this journal in 1877, 
by the offering of prizes for original stories of Californian life. 
The first, a prize of $500, was won by Thomas Vivian, the second 
by Will S. Greene, the third by Flora Deane. From the re- 
mainder of the stories thus called out, a number were purchased 
and published in addition to the prize stories. Some received 
honorary mention, others found their way into book form and 
were preserved. 

A curious coincidence occurred regarding two of these stories 
which is worthy of a mention here, simply to show that two people 
may write similarly and yet each be totally unaware of the work of 
the other. May W. Hawley of North Columbia, Wash,, was a 
charmmg writer of the Arg-onazit Her story, "Kathleen's Journal," 
was one of the serials which was chosen to appear in the Ca/l. 
"The Little Mountain Princess; a Sierra Snow-plant," by the 
writer of this work, received an honorable mention and was after- 
wards published by Loring, Boston. These two stories were 
strangely alike. If all the points had been specially given to 
two writers they might have varied more than these two, who 
wrote independently and unconsciously of each other. In each 
case the hero could not wed the heroine, because of a previous 
love affair with a Mexican girl, who still stood between them ; 
in each story the brother of the Mexican girl brought the affair 
to a happy termination ; in each there was a unique necklace 
made to order ; in each the lover, believing himself at the point 
of death, made his will in favor of the heroine, and, finally, in 
each was described a trip to Europe. Had both stories appeared 
a year apart, the inevitable conclusion would have been drawn 
that one was founded or suggested by the other. 

Will S. Greene's story, "Sacrifice," was afterwards pub- 
lished in book form, as was also " The Bachelor's Surrender," by 
Mrs. Frank Swett. 



THE UUEEKliV moHiTOt^. 



1S58-1893. 



EDITOt^S: 



Messrs. Marks and Thomas, Stephen J. McCormlck, Bryan J. Clinch, Joseph 
S. McCormicL 

COflTl^IBUTOnS: 

Gladie Hogan, Elizabeth Hogan and others. 

The Week/j Monitor was established in 1858 by Messrs. 
Marks, Thomas & Coy, as the organ of the Catholic Church. It 
passed through man)- hands until 1880, when it came into the 
hands of Stephen J. McCormick, a bold writer of great abilities. 
Mr, McCormick formerly edited the Catholic Sentinel 2X Portland, 
Or, Mr. McCormick formed a joint stock company and himself 
assumed the active editorial and business management, and the 
journal's success in his hands was assured. After a brilliant and 
useful career, Mr. McCormick laid down his pen forever, in 
August last, when he joined the great majority. The editorial 
management passed into the capable hands of Bryan J. Clinch, 
a learned and able man. Josephs. McCormick is city editor and 
Frank L,. McCormick is business manager. 



THE flmEt^ICAjH FliflG. 

1861-186T. 

D. 0. McCarthy. 

EDlTOf? : 

Calvin B. McDonald. 

The newspaper men of earlier days were aggressive ; the stir- 
ring, eventful life of the times demanded a peculiar style of journal- 
ism that would be out of sympathy entirely with the public of to- 
day. Such papers as the American Flag, with its personal attacks 
on what were known as "Copperheads," led to some serious 
outbreaks of the mob during the stormy days of i8()i-65. 



1863-1893. 

BDITOI^S AJ4D P1?0P1^IET01?S ; 

William Mitchell Bunker, A. C. Heister. 

Prominent among the evening dailies of San Francisco for 
its enterprise and fearless and independent polic)^ is the Daily 
Evening Report, which had its origin in a mining circular. It 
first appeared as a weekly in 1863, and later was issued as a noon 
daily with mining and stock market news. It continued on 
these lines unitl 1875, when it was bought by William Mitchell 
Bunker, who had been on the ediorial staff of the Bzilleiin. 
Later, in 1877, Mr. Bunker associated Mr. Hiester with himself 
as business manager of the Report, Mr. Bunker retaining the 
editorial management, and they have built up the circulation of 
their journal until it has become phenomenal. William Mitchell 
Bunker was born in Nantucket, Mass., in 18.50, and is a news- 
paper man not only from inclination and training, but also by 
heredity, for his grandfather was and his father is a journalist. 
Coming to California in 1863, his first connection with journalism 
was as a compositor on the Bulletin staff. He rose rapidly in his 
profession, and during the twelve years he remained on the 
Bulletin, he filled the positions of reporter, news editor, dramatic 
critic and literary editor, but most of his time was passed in the 
city editor's chair, and there he developed that talent for obtain- 
ing news and serving it to the public taste that has made him the 
successful proprietor that he is. Mr. Bunker was noted as one of 
the most indefatigable reporters San Francisco ever produced. 
He never gave up a scent after taking it up. Everybody remem- 
bers the Riley-Cannon fight, and how Mr. Bunker at the risk of 
his life swam ashore from the steamer, with his note-book 



420 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

wrapped in his shirt and tied about his neck, and clad only as he 
came into this world, remained at the ring-side, reported the fight 
to the last blow of the last round, and then hurried back to the 
city to give the Bulletin the best report of the contest published. 
In 1873 Mr. Bunker went to the front at three hours' notice, as 
special war correspondent during the Modoc campaign. He was 
the only correspondent present at the capture of Captain Jack, the 
news of which his papers got before any other correspondent, or 
even the War Department knew anything about it. 

Mr. Bunker has made a reputation as a newspaper writer in 
addition to his newspaper work. 

Associated closely with the success of the Report is A. C. 
Hiester, part owner and manager of the paper. Mr. Hiester is 
a native of Ohio, 56 years of age, and has been a newspaper man 
from his teens. He first entered the office of the Germantown 
Weste7-n Empormni in 1850, and after serving out his apprentice- 
ship of five years, he came to San Francisco, landing here in 
1856. He first worked on the Maiysville Appeal, then took to 
mining for a couple of years, but in 1858 returned to newspaper 
work and took a position on the Alta, leaving that journal for 
the Golden Era, and that for the Bulletin. He remained with 
'Ca& Bulletin vlwWX the strike of 1869, and after a short engage- 
ment on the Chronicle, he took the superintendency of the Report. 
When the Report passed into the hands of Mr. Bunker, Mr. 
Hiester bought a halt-interest in it, and has been head of the 
business department of the house since. 






THE EXflmilMEt^. 

1865-1893. 

FOUflDEI^S aj^D Pt?0Pf?IET01?S : 

Captain William S. Moss, B. F. Washington, Charles L. Weller, Philip A. 
Roach, George Pen Johnston, J. V. Coffey, W. T. Baggett. 

liRTEt? PROPI?IHTOJ?S RflO EDITOI^S : 

George Hearst and William R. Hearst, Clarence Greathouse, C. M. Palmer, S. 
S. Chamberlain, 1. T. Williams, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur McEwen, A. B. Henderson^ 
Allan Kelly, Harry Bigelow, Henry Haxton, Edward Tufts, Adele Chretien. 

COflTl^IBOTOI^S : 

W. C. Morrow, Robert Duncan Milne, Joseph Goodman, Gertrude Franklin 
Atherion, Flora Haines Longhead, Joaquin Miller, John Vance Cheney, Ina D. Cool- 
briih. 

The following sketch of the Examine}- was written for the 
Californian Story of the Files by Allan Kelly. 

The Daily Examiner was founded June 12, 1865, by Captain William S. 
Moss, as an evening Democratic paper. Captain Moss had previously published 
the Democratic Press, but a mob had wrecked the office and practically killed the 
paper, and the plant of the Press was used to start the new evening paper. B. 
F. Washington was the first editor of the Examiner. 

Charles L. Weller and Philip A. Roach became part proprietors of the 
paper soon after it was started, and Weller's interest was subsequently transferred 
to George Pen Johnston. Moss, Roach and Johnston conducted tiie paper for 
fifteen years and made it the leading Democratic journal of California. The 
Evening Examiner was not noted for enterprise in those days, but it was a good 
newspaper for the times and fairly prosperous. J. V. Coffey, now a judge of the 
Superior Court in San Francisco, was the leading editorial writer for some years. 

In October, 1880, the Examiner was sold to W. T. Baggett & Co. and 
appeared as a morning paper. The ownership shortly afterward was transferred 



422 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

to the Examiner Publishing Company, of which Senator George Hearst was the 
head and Clarence Greathouse became the managing editor. 

The Examiner became the property of W. R. Hearst on March 4, 1887, 
and within a week was issued as an eight-page paper, the lirst daily of that form 
and size published in California. Capital and enterprise were put into the busi- 
ness by the new editor, and the conditions of journalism in San Francisco were 
revolutionized. 

New methods, new ideas and ample financial resources were employed to 
widen the scope and extend the field of usefulness of the paper, and the Examiner 
became a modern newspaper in the broader sense, which means not only a col- 
lector and disseminator of news, but a potent factor in the progress and prosperity 
of a community, and one of the active forces of .social evolution. 

The characteristics of the Examiner are enterprise and public spirit, and 
its methods have violated all the old traditions and conventions of journalism. 
The paper has been engaged as nuicli in doing things as in writing about them, 
perhaps more, but the purely literary side of journalism has not been wholly 
neglected. 

The most notewortln* literary feature of the Examiner has been and still is 
the publication of the work of Ambrose Bierce. Besides his weekly contribu- 
tion of satirical and humoitius paragraphs, under the heading " Prattle," Bierce 
lias printed originally in the Examiner most of the short stories and verses con- 
tained in his later published volumes. 

The Examiner has also printed from time to time the work of W. C. Mor- 
row, Robert Duncan Milne, Arthur McEwen, Gertrude Atherton and most of the 
other writers of prominence on the Pacific Coast. 

One of the notable achievements of the Examiner was the publication of 
the story of the romantic double suicide of the Crown Prince Rudolph of Aus- 
tria and the Barronne Marie de Vetsera. The story filled two pages of the 
paper and was the longest cable message ever received in San Francisco. 

When the Samoan troubles began to attract the attention of the civilized 
world, the Examiner sent a special correspondent to the islands, and was enabled 
to give full and accurate accounts of the exciting events that followed the 
attempts of Germany to obtain control of Samoa. The correspondent became 
known all over the world as Klein the American, and after a very lively experi- 
ence in the camp of the island chief, was obliged to seek refuge on board of an 
American man-of-war to escape the wrath of the Germans. 

In 1889 the Examiner sent a correspondent to China to investigate the 
causes and describe the ravages of the great famine that swept nearly a million 
people off the face of the earth. The correspondent went into the very heart of 
the famine district, and upon his return wrote pages of realistic description of 
the horrors that he saw in "the Land of Despair." 

Tiie story of the great eartiiquake that devastated Japan in October, 1891, 
was told in seventeen columns of the Examiner and illustrated with a great num- 
ber of photographs taken by the special correspondent. 

The subject of Hawaiian annexation was inquired into by a member of 
the Examiner staff, who went to the islands and made an exhaustive canvass 



THE EXAMINER. 423 

among the people and public men of the kingdom, and published aU they had 
to say concerning the proposition. His report was a thorough exposition of the 
attitude of the Hawaiians toward the United States, and gave in clear and defi- 
nite form more information on the subject than any representative of the Gov- 
ernment ever had obtained. 

Among the useful public services rendered by the Examiner were the 
exposure and conviction of jury bribers in the Morrow case, the unearthing of 
corruption in the Legislature and the full exposure of boodlers, the reformation 
of abuses in the City Hospital and the improvement of the Life-saving Service 
on this coast. The last-named work was brought about through the rescue by 
Examiner reporters of a wrecked fisherman, who had been left by the ofiicial life- 
savers to perish on a wave-swept rock off" Point Bonita. — Allan Kelly. 

From Illustrated Califomiari, May, 1892 : 

W. R. Hearst, proprietor and manager of the Examiner, was born in this 
city, April 29, I860, at the corner of California and Montgomery streets, and was 
educated in part in the Hamilton Grammar School. Here, while still a mere 
boy, he made a reputation for his style and composition in English. After a tour 
of Europe, he entered a preparatory school at Concord, Conn., and graduated 
from Harvard in 1886, after which he returned to San Francisco and assumed 
the management of the Examiner, and in March, 1887, he became its sole pro- 
prietor and managing editor. From that time on Mr. Hearst has been so closely 
identified with the Examiner that its history has been his biography too. He 
introduced a new era of journalism on the coast, and has, by a happy combina- 
tion of brains, money and courage, made the Examiner one of the leading jour- 
nals of the country, with a circulation equal, in proportion to population, to the 
very largest. This result has been achieved by Mr. Hearst's close personal atten- 
tion to every detail of his business, which he so thoroughly understands. In 
personal characteristics he is a quiet, modest gentleman. His pride and ambi- 
tion are centered in his newspaper, which, from its first five years under his 
management, gives promise of still greater achievements. 

As business manager of the Examiner, C. M. Palmer has contributed in no 
small degree to its phenomenal succees. He lias filled the position only since 
January 1, 1889, but has already made a reputation among newspaper men on 
this coast second to none. Mr. Palmer was born in Wisconsin thirty-five years 
ago. Before he was of age he went to Nebraska to make his fortune, and there 
did his first newspaper work on the Tecumseh Chieftain, a small country weekly. 
The financial returns were small, however, and young Palmer's ambition large, so 
that he was compelled to teach school that he might increase his income, and 
<ievoted his small leisure to reading law. Not finding the fortune he sought in 
Nebraska, he returned to Wisconsin and connected himself with the La Crosse 
Democrat, at that time conducted by the author of "Peck's Bad Boy," who is now 
Governor of Wisconsin. Tlie Democrat being sold in 1876, Mr. Palmer joined the 
staff" of the La Crosse Republican and Leader, and in a short time became city 
editor and business manager of it. After holding these positions for three years 



424 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

lie removed to Minneapolis, and during his residence there became interested in 
almost everj paper published in the city. Mr. Palmer's phenomenal success in 
newspaper management led Mr. Hearst to retain his services for the Examiner 
just after Mr. Palmer had sold the Minneapolis Tribune. 

S. S. Chamberlain, news editor of tlie Examiner, is a native of New York. 
In 1871 he was connected with the New York Herald, and was for several years 
James (Gordon Bennett's private secretary. In 1882 Mr. Chamberlain founded 
the Morning News, an English paper m Paris, which introduced the system of 
furnishing daily telegraphic news, something unheard of in Parisian journalism. 
He was also the one to introduce the American personal interview to the 
Parisian world. After his successes in Paris, Mr. Chamberlain returned to the 
New York World, and in 1889 Mr. Hearst retained his services for the Examiner 
as news editor. 

Thomas T. Williams, city editor of the Examiner, has been an active 
newspaper man in San Francisco since 1879. He is also dramatic critic for the 
Examiner, and succeeds in making his players' column one of the best of its kind 
in tlie country. In addition to his editorial work, Mr. Williams does special 
correspondence for several leading Eastern dailies. 

Ambrose Bierce, an editorial and special writer on the Examiner, has 
attracted no little attention to the journal by his caustic papers and critical style. 

— James Prentiss Cramer. 

The following is quoted from the Examiner : 

Allan Kelly, who knows as much about the picturesque side of the new 
West as any writer living, began his literary career as a reporter on the San 
Francisco dailies. His work during the Kearney troubles brought him into 
prominence. He returned to the East and was for several years connected with 
the editorial staff of the New York Sun, and also with that of the Boston Globe. 
Since his return to the West five years ago Mr. Kelly has added much to his 
already great reputation by work done for the Examiner. He has accomplished 
many "big" newspaper things, particularly out-door stories. It was Mr. Kelly 
who captured a grizzly bear for this paper ; he was one of the men that rescued 
an Italian fisherman from Point Bonita rock ; he walked across the mountains 
during the big snow blockade to get in his dispatches; he made a long trip on 
foot over the Canadian border and first pointed out tho leak through which 
thousands of Chinamen and hundreds of pounds of opium were pouring into the 
United States — and these are only a few of his journalistic feats. His knowledge 
of the life of the forests and mountains and plains, about which he writes so 
well, is all gained from practical experience. He is a mountaineer and a hunter 
of big game, an expert with ritle and revolver. He makes his home in tlie 
mountains and writes his stories in liis camp. 

The dramatic department of the Exam/?ier was conducted 
for some seven or eight years by Adele Chretien, a charming 
little woman, who has never seemed to realize in so doing that she 



THE EXAMINER. 425 

did ati3'thing out of the usual. It was a department admirably 
conducted, in the esteem of the public second only to "Betsey 
B.'s " in \h& Argo7iaut. A strong friendship and appreciation 
existed between the two women, which is delightfully shown in 
Mrs. Chretien's sketch on Mrs. Austin in the Argojiaut School, 
written specially for this volume. 

The name of " Annie Laurie " brings up wonderful studies 
of human nature as to the way it disports itself in the streets and 
byways of San Francisco. It is under this name that Mrs. O. 
Black is celebrated for her columns written for the Exa7?ti?ier. 
Her gifts in analyzing motives and expressing them in quick, 
strong English, are equaled onl)' by her other gift — that of 
remarkably good common sense. 

The wonderful exploits of the Examiner writers could not 
be told in a volume, but they have become good examples of 
legendary lore, already to be told in the home circle, if not around 
the fireside, to the astonished stranger within our gates. Jump- 
ing from the ferr3'-boat into the bay to see if the life-saving facil- 
ities of the ferry system work promptly, going out to interview 
stage robbers, or to capture a grizzly bear, all for the glory of the 
Examiner, are merely a sample of the exploits of Harry Bigelow, 
Allan Kelly and a host of daring writers, who are willing to 
attempt anything and everything, even the impossible. 

Since the Examiner' s advent under the management of W. 
R. Hearst, it has kept the city lively and in a continual state of 
bewilderment, a typical example of American journalism. 




THE CHJ^OHlCliH. 

1865-1893. 

FOUflDERS AflD PHOPI?IHTOt?S : 

Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, 

EflRliY EDITORS: 

James F. Boivman. John Timmins, A. B. Henderson, O. B. Densmore, Samuel 
Seabough, B. B. Davenport, John Bonner, Marcus P. Wiggin, George Heazleton, 
George H. Weeks, James Robinson, E, Curtis, Charles E. Northeys. 

IiRTEl^ EDITOf?S : 

John P. Young, George Hamlin Fitch, Horace B. Hudson, Frank B. Millard, 
Peter Robertson, Arthur H. Barendt, E. C. Simpson, Thomas Vivian, Thomas E. 
Flynn. 

COflTt^IfiOTOHS : 

Prentice Mul/ord, Joaquin Miller, Albert Sutli^e, Harry Dam, H. K. God- 
dard, Joseph Goodman, Dan de Quille, Sam Davis, John Hamilton Gibnour, Charles 
Warren Stoddard, George C. Gorham, Bret Harte, Clinton Parkhurst, Charles Fred- 
eric Holder, D. F. Verdenal, Flora Haines Longhead, Yda Addis, Margaret Har- 
vey and others. 

The Chronicle of to-day, with its palatial home at the corner 
of Market and Kearny streets, is the outcome of a little sheet 
issued as a theater programme, at the sides and in the back of 
which were printed advertisements of all kinds. 

The Dramatic Chronicle introduced a new feature in San 
Francisco journalism. The first number was issued on January 
27, 1865. The paper at first was little more than a programme 
of the theaters, being distributed to the patrons of theaters and 
on the streets free of charge. In fact, it was a Chro7iicle of the 
times — local, critical, musical and theatrical — the office was 
known as the headquarters of the Bohemians. 



THE CHRONICLE. 427 

The proprietor, editor, business manager, typo, proof-reader 
and collector was Charles de Young, and in a sprightly introduc- 
tion he announced it the Chronicle's intention to put before its 
readers "the actions, intentions, sayings, doings, movements, 
successes, failures, oddities, peculiarities and speculations of us 
poor mortals here below." 

Among the staff were James F. Bowman, Samuel Clemens 
(Mark Twain), Charles K. Northeys, Bret Harte, Charles War- 
ren Stoddard, G. B. Densmore and others, then well known to 
local fame. On August 18, 1868, the word Dramatic was 
dropped from the head-line. The Chronicle had come to stay. 

M. H. de Young, the proprietor and editor of the Chronicle, 
is probably the most widely known among newspaper editors on 
the coast and at the East. When a mere lad he was attracted to 
a printing office and learned the printer's trade. The story of 
the way he and his brother in ten yeais made the Chronicle a 
great newspaper is too well known to repeat here. De Young 
probably knows all the detail of newspaper work, from the busi- 
ness office to the composing-room, better than any proprietor in 
the country. He is in close contact with all departments of his 
paper, despite the large outside demands made upon his time and 
energy. He has remarkable executive ability, and he is able to 
dispatch a mass of business every day because of his memor}^ of 
detail. He writes but little, but he dictates a clean-cut editorial, 
or gives in a few vigorous sentences the outline of an article 
which he wishes developed. He is devoted to California and the 
coast, as he has shown in his work as the Vice-President and 
California Commissioner of the World's Fair. Mr. de Young is 
noted for the interest he takes in all that concerns newspaper 
men, and he was recently elected President of the International 
League of Press Clubs and a life member of the New York Press 
Club. 

John P. Young, the managing editor of the Chronicle, re- 
ceived his newspaper training in the hard school of Washington 
local work and correspondence. For five years he was city editor 
of the Washington Chronicle, and afterwards one of the staff of 
correspondents that Editor Store}^ of the Chicago Times main- 
tained at the national capital. Mr. Young is recognized as an 



428 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

authority on the tariff and silver questions. In fact, during the 
last campaign, no paper in the country surpassed the Chronicle 
in its able and full discussion of the protective policy, and its 
work was commended by prominent Republican leaders at Wash- 
ington. Mr. Young is a Pennsylvanian, 43 j^ears old, a rapid 
and untiring worker, and a walking encyclopedia of statistics on 
foreign and American finance. He has held his present position 
fourteen years. 

The night editor and literary editor of the Chronicle, George 
H. Fitch, was trained on the New York Tribune, and came to 
the coast twelve ytars ago. His sketch and picture may be 
found classified under the Illustrated Califorman Magazine 
School, with which he is identified. 

Horace R. Hudson, city editor of the Chro?iicle, obtained his 
first taste of journalism as assistant editor of the Albany Times. 
He made his first hit on the Chtoyiicle as legislative correspondent 
at Sacramento. In this work he showed rare aptitude in foretell- 
ing political events and in giving the digest of important meas- 
ures. On his return he was made city editor, an exacting posi- 
tion which he has filled with credit for thirteen years, a feat 
which is without parallel in this city, as five years is a long term 
at this hard desk. Mr. Hudson is a man of fine presence, 43 
5^ears of age. He is an authority on foreign politics, and is an 
accomplished French scholar. 

The dramatic editor of the Chronicle, Peter Robertson, has 
made a niche for himself with his pathetic tales of the "Seedy 
Man," which have become almost classic. The following ex- 
tracts are given to show his kindly treatment of the theme, 
" Youuo- Women on the Stage " : 



The Seedy Gentleman lit his pipe and settled himself in his chair. Then 
he remarked, irrelevantly : 

" I asked him about it once." 

"Who?" 

" Shakespeare." 

"About what?" 

" Why all his heroes and lieroines fell in love at first sight?" 

" What did he say?" 

" He said that was proper, for young people." 



THE CHRONICLE. 429 

" How about old people ? " 

" They don't fall in love at all." 

"No?" 

"No; when you get old, it's a kind of affection. You see, Romeo and 
Juliet fall in love with one another like a flash ; Rosalind and Orlando become 
lovesick in a moment ; Celia and the scapegrace brother do the same thing 
Antony goes down before Cleopatra in less than five minutes ; Olivia simply 
hugs Cesario before he has the Duke's message well delivered, and the Duke 
keels over as soon as he finds Cesario is a woman. One of the few cases where it 
took some time was when Desdemona ran away with Othello, and he was a black 
man." 

"That seems an argument." 

" Well, after all, it is so when the woman is good-looking or the man 
handsome. The fact is, gentlemen, this love business is nothing like as noble as 
we are wont to paint it." 

***** 

"And Julia Marlowe? You began talking about her." 

" The most promising young actress the later years have given us. Not 
old enough yet to have a mannerism. I saw her Viola to-night. It was a per- 
formance full of pretty points and full of imperfections. I don't think I have 
ever seen such pretty business as she put in." 

***** 

"Ah, Ada Rehan can make love. Her lovemaking has all the blarney of 
the Irish colleen and all the charming freedom and confidence of the American. 
She can play love at first sight better than anybody I ever saw. I like to see 
her plunge into it with that little start, that opening of her eyes and that mag- 
netic little laugh. Ah, love, love, love. It is the comedy, the farce, the drama, 
the tragedy of life. It leads to bliss and despair ; it overcomes the pain of pov- 
erty and kills the pleasure of wealth ; it makes us sacrifice ourselves to others 
and others to ourselves; it is heaven and hell and purgatory — and we all go 

through it." 

***** 

"I cannot help saying it again, the California girl is a wonder." 

"How?" 

"What she finds to do she does with all her might, and nothing can 
frighten her. It has been notable how California girls have got on on the stage. 
There has not been one of them who has not surprised the managers." 

"How?" 

"The California girl knows no such thing as stage fright. No, they are 
not all full-fledged actresses, but they soon come out. If they don't they are 
equally as ready to get oft" the stage and try something else. But they try. 
Where do they get the courage? I fancy it must be from the fathers who took 
their lives in their hands in '49. And yet it's strange that California men don't 
seem to get on as fast. For every California nan on the stage there are — I don't 
know— about three women, and the women have more prominent places. There 



430 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

is something very peculiar about it. There are hundreds of unemployed 
actresses in New York, thousands who are clamoring for admission to the stage, 
and yet the California girl will go to the metropolis, and inside of six months 
she's back in San Francisco with some New York or at least important company." 

" It is odd." 

"Once in awhile you meet with a California boy in a good place on the 
stage, but most of them fill quite subordinate parts and are hardly heard of." 

"Girls are more written about than men." 

" That's true. It's natural. The writers are men." 

" Yet women writers mostly write about women," 

"They don't know what to say about men, and they do know all about 
women. A man's never the same to a man as to a woman. She sees him from a 
diferent point of view." 

" Naturally." 

" Unnaturally, my friends," said the Seedy Gentleman, holding up his 
hand. " I tell you that under the surface the movement for the freedom of 
woman is growing in power every day. We have given them hope of liberty. 
Their struggle gained for them that hope, and now nothing can stop them. 
There are but two relations between men and women compatible with peace and 
happiness. Either woman is the goddess of the household, pure and simple, or 
she is the absolute equal of man. The stage is helping them in the fight." 

"How?" 

" In the old days — yes, we read of actresses — but the stage was the devil's 
temple then, and they had but little influence as examples. The penalties of 
stage fame were too great to raise emulation. The charm of woman was mod- 
esty, and public notice was something a modest woman was not supposed to be 
capable of desiring." 

" And they're growing immodest now ?" 

"No, they are proving that they can take care of themselves; they are 
showing that art is not immodest, nor is it a purely male gift ; they are challenging 
men for rank in literature, music and the arts, and in the last two now — perhaps 
some day it will be the same in the first — they are beating them. The little 
canaries have got out of their cages into the room, and presently they'll out at 
the window and fly away. A little freedom is a dangerous thing." 

" Oh, your old hobby." 

" Yes, I suppose so. But all my experience of the stage lately has kept 
forcing upon me the fact that women are quicker in intelligence, more energetic 
and determined, more courageous in fighting difficulties in their career, absolutely 
more competent than men in a variety of ways. But the stage for women is no 
small question. We may talk about the silly girl being stage-struck. There are 
thousands of them in this town." 

"You don't say." 

" I repeat it — thousands ! Most of them have sense and feel that they 
daren't try ; but do you suppose that women do not think or reason ? Yes, they 
do a million things that are unreasonable ; they are nearly all impulse. There 



THE CHRONICLE. 43 1 

is a girl, young and charming, playing at the Baldwin Theater. What has she 
done? She has studied Shakespeare, gone on the stage and played the parts. 
The papers of the country have printed columns about her — not scandal, not 
personal gossip, but all about her acting and her art and those higher elements 
which men are prouder of than all their money-making talent when they possets 
them. The men talk about her charm ; they do not offer to her only the tribute 
that they give to a pretty girl in the chorus of a comic opera. It is the same art 
that we rate so high in actors, a sister art to that which made the whole world 
pause a moment when Tennyson died. Is it not a worthy ambition then ? Can 
you argue that women should not seek to advance themselves when the stage 
shows us hundreds of examples of their ability to stand beside men in the high- 
est art? If they fail? Do men never fail? There are more failures than suc- 
cesses in the world." 

" Do you think girls ought to go on the stage? " 

" No. To me it seems a hard life ; to me it seems a pity when a pretty, 
clever, charming girl goes on the stage. No. God has made a few girls to be 
Rosalinds and Juliets. He has made a few more to be comic opera singers. He 
has made some to be soubrettes ; but so far as those who go on the stage are con- 
cerned, he seems to have made most of them to be peasants, ladies of the court, 
gypsies and things, bunched at the bottom of the cast, and in the play mere 
figures without even a name. But there is divine afflatus, and we don't know till 
we find from experience whether we have it. in us or not." — Peter Robertson. 

Regarding Mr. Robertson, Mrs. Gertrude Atherton says in 
in her article in the Cosmopolitan : 

Mr. Robertson's editorials are characterized by a conscientious desire to 
lead aright the large majority of theater-goers, who wait for him to make up 
their minds for them, and by a very evident intention of making an art of criti- 
cism. Although a man of positive opinions, he is very exact in his judgment, 
and uninfluenced by personal feeling. 

Mr. Robertson is also a clever librettist. Upon the occasion 
of the successful initial performance of the comic opera entitled 
"His Majesty " (the work of himself and Mr. H. Stewart, the 
musical composer), he was called before the footlights and pre- 
sented with a great floral pen-plume, a most appropriate offering. 
Mr. Robertson's gift of writing is equalled only by his kindliness 
of heart. 

No better sketch could be written by one newspaper man 
about another than the following, by George Hamlin Fitch, 
which serves a two-fold purpose in this collocation. It serves to 
show the delicate touch ot Mr. Fitch, his admirable brevity and 



432 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

skill, as well as the characteristics of so striking an individualitj- 
as is John Hamilton Gilmour, who has left his imprint on the 
Californian files. The sketch is as follows : 

Mr. Gilmour is well known to newspaper readers on this coast, as for 
several years he has been a regular contributor to the San Francisco Sunday 
Chronicle. He has done more than any other writer to make known the singular 
life of the people along the edges of the Colorado desert. The fascination of the 
desert has laid hold upon him also, which is perhaps the reason why he has been 
able to interpret its charm. He has an intense love of Nature, and he has the 
poetic quality that enables him to bring out in words what nine men out of ten 
feel vaguely, but cannot express. Thus his articles on the way the birds come in 
early spring in the little tropical valleys that fringe the dreary desert are instinct 
with genuine poetry. So, too, are his pen pictures of night on the desert, when 
the darkness frequently seems to be the embodiment of malignant unseen forces, 
and the howl of the coyote is a relief from that stillness which is like the visible 
presence of death and well nigh palsies the senses. It requires literary art of a 
high degree to bring such impressions as these down upon paper and give them 
actual form in fitting words. Tn the same way Mr. Gilmour has made scores of 
character sketches of the strange people on the desert. You feel in reading his 
work that he has known these waifs and strays who have been stranded in this 
strange quarter of the globe, and that often he has penetrated their armor of 
reserve and reached the heart of the mystery that led them to become exiles from 
their kind. The humor of the desert, like its pathos, is unique, and no one, save 
Lummis. has developed it so successfully as Gilmour. 

It is a far cry from the Colorado desert to India, yet Gilmour, who is an 
Anglo-Indian, has written several graj)hic sketches of life as he knew it in British 
India thirty years ago. His best work in this field was the sketch of a Hindoo 
wedding which appeared in the Cosmopolitan last year, with many beautiful illus- 
trations. 

It is natural that a man who loves birds and trees should be kind to the 
Indians of the desert. Mr. Gilmour by his pen has been able to do much for the 
unfortunate Cahuilla tribe, that has never had any aid from the Government. 
He has exposed the injustice of the Indian agents, and he has had the satisfac- 
tion of knowing that his appeals have aided the cause of Indian education. St. 
Boniface's School at Banning is under great obligation to him for the interest he 
has excited in the work of educating these young Arabs of the desert and lifting 
them out of the savagery to which they were born. This is work which ought 
to keep his name green in the memory of those who have tried to save the 
Indian from moral degradation that is worse than death. 

Mr. Gilmour was born in Allahabad, British India, June 17, 
1858. He was educated in England, returning to India when he 
was ig. He wrote for the Indian newspapers there, but says of 
himself that he was always wanting to right wrongs, and always 



THE CHRONICLE. 433 

SO desirous of making people see themselves as others saw them, 
that there was a continual disturbance following his articles. In 
a few years he came to America and settled in California. He 
has been connected with the News Letter and the Post and several 
other journals in San Francisco. His tendency to satirize still 
remains with him. One of the most harmless and yet absurd of 
his perpetrations was the incident told by him in his column in 
the Evening Post, some few years ago. James Flood, the capi- 
talist, had ordered a group of statuary to be made for his new 
business block, but for some reason or other he ignored the order, 
and, in consequence, the sculptor brought suit against him. The 
figures of Bacchus and Ceres, cast in clay, were no longer given 
storage, but thrust out in the street, where the immense white 
forms, exposed to the fast-falling rain, gradually took on a gro- 
tesquely piteous expression of dismantlement. Every one's 
attention was attracted and it became a topic of conversation. It 
fell under the eye of Gilmour, the remorseless. Straightway 
appeared a paragraph that set the city to laughing. It ran some- 
thing as follows : 

It is no wonder tliat the statues of F. Marion Wells, planned to ornament 
the Flood building, did not meet the favor of the distinguished capitalist, Mr. 
Flood. When Mr. Wells came into the august presence he stated that he had 
the statues now ready for inspection, and that he had decided upon the figures of 
Ceres and Bacchus as appropriate to the building and to California. Mr. Flood 
looked surprised. He said he'd be hanged if he saw any reason why the statues 
of Postmaster Backus and Druggist Sears should be put up on his building, and 
what was more, lie would stand suit before it should be done. If any particular 
person's statue was going up there it ought to be his own, and not those of two 
people in the city of San Francisco whose only claim to eminence was a post- 
office and a drug store. 

In contrast to this humor is his series of pictures of the 
desert, published in the Chronicle, from one of which the follow- 
ing extract is made : 

NIGHT ON THE DESERT. 

Day is growing faint. The pale purple of decay is fast spreading over her 
once radiant face, becoming deeper and deeper as the end is reached. Night 
comes speedily. No delicious twilight enchants the resting senses. There is no 
intermediate step from the glare of sunlight to the somber hues of niglit. In 
the daytime the monotony frights. The never-ending waves of sand, the dismal 



434 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 

patches of sagebrush, bring ever before one the oppressive thought of death — 
living death. So powerful is this that one almost feels inclined to cry aloud and 
stab the silence with a piercing shriek. 

Curious are the feelings of man regarding the desert when day is at her 
height; a marvelous change comes over him when she sinks into deeper sloth. 
For night brings peace. * * * Have you ever been unable to sleep, over- 
come by the oppression of the unknown? If you have lived alone in the out- 
skirts of the desert, my meaning will become apparent. The loneliness sharpens 
every sense. The quiver of the air, the rustle of the leaves, the swaying grasses 
— all that you so much enjoyed before you tried to sleep disturb you. It is 
strange what a loud noise a single leaf can make to your nervous hearing. 

Four tiny feet patter over the sands. It is a rabbit. A filing of the wall 
begins. It is a field mouse. The cock quail drums loudly through the night, 
and faint in reply comes the warning answer of his mate. It is not an encheering 
sound. Often have I thought, when hearing their mournful screams, of lost souls 
wandering, calling — calling in vain for that helping hand which is forever denied 
them. An owl floats slowly toward the moon, showing a shadow against the disk 
of silver. A distant bark breaks in upon the quiet air. * * * x\l the 
colony of dogs is awakened, and amid the appalling din comes the sharp yelp of 
the coyote. 

Now and again a cow bellows and a horse snorts. You feel a pity, for 
perhaps it is caused by fright at a side-winder, that treacherous species of the 
rattlesnake common to the Colorado desert. Then there is a twang. It rever- 
berates through spate. Wandering cattle have come in contact with the barbed- 
wire fence. * * * 

Then the noises die and sleep steals quietly to the brain, as the regnant 
moon moves higher up her orbit, enbrightening the dreaming world with a 
beauty far more beautiful than that of her twin brother, the sun. 

— John Hamilton Gilmour, 

Many excellent city studies which appeared in the Chronicle 
are from the pens of writers on the stafifof more than ordinary ability. 
Especially good was a late article entitled "Free Lodging in a 
Theater," telling of the curious use to which the Bijou Theater 
is now put, serving as a night habitation for tramps. The humor 
and pathos of the situation are well portraj^ed. The articles in 
years past by Flora Haines Longhead have been most praise- 
worthy. Those lately by Margaret Harvey and Yda Addis have 
been of superior quality. 

Many fine writers have contributed to the columns of the 
Chronicle who are otherwise classified under literary journal or 
magazine. 



EVeflH^G POST. 

ISTl-lSQS. 

EDITOI^S: 

John L. Sheehan, Samuel Backus, Colonel Jackson, John Hamilton Gilmour 
Oeorge Heazleton, J. O'Hara Cosgrave, Hugh Hume. 

The Evening Post was founded in 187 1. It was started by 
four or five newspaper men as a venture. It was at first probably 
the smallest daily newspaper ever issued. 

The Post passed into the hands of its present proprietor and 
editor, George Heazleton, in 1889. Mr. Heazleton is a native of 
Pittsburg, Pa. He was educated at the public schools of his 
native city and graduated from the High School. He then 
entered Oberlin and completed the classical course there at 19. 
Going abroad, he entered the University of Gottingen, Germany, 
and later, Heidelberg, After two years at these institutions, he 
went to Paris and there continued his education. Upon his 
return to America he came to California and joined the Chronicle 
staff as a reporter, later he was exchange editor, and finally, for 
five years was Washington correspondent of that journal. 

Under his management the Post has shown great enterprise 
in securing local and telegraphic news, and it has made a feature 
of illustrations, which add so greatly to the attractiveness of a 
newspaper. 

Lately this journal has passed into the possession of J. 
O'Hara Cosgrave and Hugh Hume, who are also proprietors of 
the Wave. 



.^^ 




VAUE. 

It is a primitive state of society which finds expression in the 
valedictory. The new spirit of the age is ' ' that men may come 
and men may go, but the printing-press goes on forever." But 
to preserve that atmosphere of the old Golden Era of 1852, and 
extending its elements of human sympath}- across to 1893, ^ 
space of forty years, joining the hands of the old times and the 
new, the primitive and the modern, I must find expression in the 
old-fashioned custom. 

In judgment upon the work here presented I sit, and pro- 
claim of my own accord its many imperfections. The files could 
not be reduced to a volume, nor a volume of writers to a chapter. 
The only claim that is here made is that it is honest preliminary 
work. Let him who comes after add to and perfect this begin- 
ning. 

But some way, now that I have reached the end, sustained 
as I have been through all these mazes by a courage that has 
never failed, a consciousness of awe falls upon me. 

Some way I feel as I did at the close of my trip to the grand 
valley of the Yo Semite. Mounted upon a sure-footed little 
donkey, I went up the narrow trails, over the verges of great 
precipices and gazed down into the great gorges below, full of 
rushing waters, and then up at the massive walls above me to 
the blue of the sky. Profourd! magnificent those proportions of 
Nature! And I rejoiced and was exceeding glad. 

The tourists from Manila, Cape Town, Calcutta and I,ondon, 
men and women travelers from all over the world, were timidly 
clinging to their donkeys, or else getting off and leading them 
along. In their looks they expressed disapproval of such a 
childish state of glee as was fiung down from the trail ahead of 
them, as in solemn procession we filed around those semi-circles 
of trail, which wound about like the coils of a serpent, up the 



VAi.E. 437 

precipitous height, amid those " wind-braided waters," as Charles 
Warren Stoddard calls them, and those Titan-hewed walls. 

But it was my own land. I was in my own home. It was 
m}^ kingdom. I had grown up in these mountains, only three 
■days distant from this grand upheaval. 

And I leaned forward upon my donkey as he ascended to 
Tieaven, and leaned back with my head upon his spine as he de- 
scended to earth again, and sang from the fullness of my heart a 
little march, which exactly suited the meter of the donkey's jog. 

And some of them took up the weiid strain and sang it with 
me, for it fitted the mood and the metre of Nature, with its clang 
as of cymbals, suitable for so slow and so uncertain a march as 
was ours. 

But when I had come down from the trails and was well on 
my way home, with the great valley fading into the purple hills 
of the distance, a great fear fell upon me. I never thought to be 
afraid till it was all over ; but that fear will remain with me ever- 
more. — Ella Sterling Cummins. 



ii;!Hiiiiiiii' 



!i«!i!iL;iraitiiiiiiii:!» 



^sTlhE. I 



iiiiii;ii!^iiiiiiiiiis. 



CALIFORNIAN STORY OF THE FILES 



INDEX. 



CHHPTEt^S. 

Frontispiece — California, 1849 

Title Page ..... 

Dedication ..... 

Keynote ...... 

Prelude ..... 

Golden Era Scliool .... 

Women of the Golden Era 

Pioneer Magazine .... 

Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine 
Early Poets ..... 

Poetry of the Pacific and Outcroppiugs 
First Writers of Humor and Travel 
An Early Journalist of War Times 
Sacramento Union .... 

Hesperian ..... 

Writers of t'le Sagebrush School 

Olive Harper .... 

Caxton ...... 

The Incomparable Three . 

Californian ..... 

Overland School .... 

Hubert H. Bancroft and Bancroft's Histories . 
Henry George .... 

Ambrose Bierce • . . , 

!News Letter .... 

Wasp ...... 

Argonaut Scliool .... 

Oalifornian School .... 

Later Overland School 

Later Golden Era School 

San Franciscan School 

Ingleside School .... 

Califomian Illustrated Magazine . 

Wave ...... 



PAGES. 

1 

3 

4 

5-12 

13-22 

23-33 

34-41 

42-45 

46-54 

55-62 

63-69 

70-76 

77-99 

100-101 

102-118 

119-120 

121-122 

123-140 

141-143 

144-166 

167-172 

173-176 

177-184 

185-186 

187-189 

190-233 

234-267 

268-276 

277-293 

204-307 

.308-315 

316-322 

323-326 



INDEX — CHAPTERS — ILLUSTRATIONS. 



441 



Readings from Californian Poets . 


. 327-328 


Picturesque California . . . . 


329-330 


Three Poems .... 


. 331-335 


Fiction, Drama and Miscellaneous 


336-362 


Unknown Authors .... 


363 


Literature as a Profession for Women . 


365-376 


San Francisco Journalism . 


. 377-381 


Woman's Press Association 


382-397 


Woman Writers of Southern California . 


. 399-402 


A Glimpse of Californian Journalism . 


403 


Alta California .... 


. 405-406 


California Demokrat (German) 


407 


Abend-Post (German) 


408 


Evening Bulletin .... 


409-410 


Morning Call .... 


. 411-416 


Weeklj' Monitor . . . 


417 


American Flag .... 


418 


Evening Report .... 


419-420 


Examiner ..... 


. 421-425 


Chronicle ..... 


426-434 


Evening Post .... 


435 


Vale 


436-437 



lUUt. STt^HTIONS. 



Addis, Yda . 

Anthony, James 

Atherton, Gertrude Franklin 

Avery, Fannie H. 

Avery, Benjamin P. 



225 
79 
347 
286 
151 



Bancroft, Hubert H. 
" Betsy B." . 
Bierce, Ambrose 
Bigelow, Henry Derby 
Bishop, Kate M. 
Booth, Newton 
Brooks, Noah 
Browne, J. Ross 



168 
198 
178 
310 
229 

89 
153 

66 



California, 1849 
California, 1879 
California, 1893 



Frontispiece 
186 
365 



442 CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 



Carmany, John H. . . . . . . . 145 

Clifford, Josephine ....... 158 

Cooper, Mrs. Sarah B. ...... . 163 

Cosgrave, J. O'Hara ....... 324 

Crane, Lauren E. ..... . . . 91 

Cummins, Adley H. ...... . 301 

Cummins, Ella Sterling . . . . . . . 306 

Daggett, EoUin M. ...... . 14 

Danziger, Gustav Adolph ....... 321 

Davis, Sam ........ 107 

Dawson, Emma Frances ....... 226 

Derby, Colonel G. H 63 

Doran, James ........ 354 

Ewer, Ferdinand C. ...... . 36 

Eyster, Mrs. Nellie Blessing ...... 386 

Field, Mary H. ....... 237 

Fitch, Anna M. . . . .. . . . 299 

Fitch, George Hamlin ...... 320 

Fitch, Thomas ........ 299 

Ford, J. MacDonough ...... 15 

Foote, Lucius Harwood ....... 256 

Gaily, James W. ....... 157 

George, Henry ........ 174 

Glasscock, Mary Willis ...... 246 

Goodman, Joseph Thompson ...... 295 

Greene, Clay Meredith ...... 341 

Gunter, Archibald Clavering ...... 32S 

Hagar ......... 27 

Halstead, Ada L. . . . . . . . .397 

298 
126 
196 
248 
248 
389 
317 
313 
43 



Harrison, William Pitt 
Harte, Francis Bret 
Hart, Jerome A. 
Hittell, John S. 
Hittell, Theodore H. . 
Hoffman-Craig, Mary Lynde 
Holder, Charles Frederick 
Holmes, Adelaide J. 
Hutch ins, J. M. 



INDEX — ILLUSTRATIONS. 



443 



Keith, Eliza D. 
Kingsbury, Alice 
Kirby, Georgiana Bruce 

Lawrence, Mary V. 
Le Conte, Joseph . 
Lezinsky, David Lesser 

Massett, Stephen M. 
Markham, Charles Edwin 
McDonald, Calvin B. 
McEwen, Arthur 
McGlashan, C. F. . 
Menken, Adah Isaacs 
Mighels, Henry Russ 
Millard, Frank Bailey 
Miller, Joaquin 
Milne, Robert Duncan 
Morrill, Paul 
Morrow, William C 
Muir, John 

Murphy, Robert Wilson 
Myrtle, Minnie 

Nordoff, Charles 
Norris, Frank 

Pacheco, Mrs. Romualdo 
Parkhurst, Mrs. Emelie T. 
Phelan, James D. 
Phelps, Charles Henry 
Picture of Sea-lion 
Pittsinger, Eliza 
Pixley, Frank M. 
Plunkett, Lillian . 
Pollock, Edward 
Powell, Emilv Browne 



388 

30 

162 

93 
243 
292 

21 

251 

70 

297 

98 

25 

105 

220 

135 

219 

78 

222 

155 

356 

25 

69 
359 

343 
384 
274 
235 
307 

23 
192 
396 

47 
391 



Realf, Richard 
Redding, Benjamin Barnard 
Reed, Anna Morrison 
Rhodes. William H. 
Richardson, Daniel S. 
Ridge, John Rollin , 



214 
253 
397 
121 
238 
49 



444 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND I.ITERATURE. 



Savage, Kichard Henry 
Seabough, Samuel 
Sheehan, John F. 
Shinn, Charles Howard 
Shuey, Lillian Hinman 
Sill, Edward Rowland 
Somers, Fred M. 
Sosso, Lorenzo 
Stanton, Mrs. Mary O. 
Stoddard, Charles Warren 
Swift, John Franklin 



340 
85 
97 
275 
392 
146 
195 
361 
387 
148 
108 



Toland, Mary Bertha McKenzie 
Topsy Turvy 
Twain, Mark 



394 

31 

123 



Victor, Frances ¥. 



159 



IVagner, Harr 
Wagner, Madge Morris 
AValter, Carrie Stevens 
Wasson, Joseph 
"Watson, Henry Clay 
Webb, Louise H.' 
White, Richard Edward 
Wiggin, Kate Douglass 
Wiley, Alice Denison| 
Woods, Virna 



280 


281 


289 


115 


83 


257 


244 


350 


285 


394 



Wt^ITEf^S IWEflTIOriED. 



Adams, Walter E. 
Anderson, Dr. Jerome 
Atherton, Gertrude Franklin 
Austin, Mary Therese 
Avery, Benjamin P. 
Avery, Fannie H. 



290 
291 
347-350 
198 
151 
286 



Bancroft, Hubert H. 
Bartlett, William B. 
Bausman, William 
Bierce, Ambrose 



167 
152 

90 
177 



INDEX — WRITERS MENTIONED. 



445 



Bigelow, Henry Derby 
Birkmaier, Eliza G. 
Bishop, Kate M. 
Booth, Newton 
Bowman, James F. 
Bowman, Mrs. Mary C. 
Brooks, Noah 
Brown, Clara Spaulding 
Brown, Genevieve Lucille 
Browne, J. Ross 
Bruce, Wallace 

Carmany, John H. 
Carleton, Henry Guy 
Carr, Mrs. Jeanne C. 
Cheney, John Vance 
Cheney, Warren 
Clare, Ada 
Clemens, Samuel 
Clifford, Josephine 
Coolbrith, Ina D. 
Cooper, Mrs. Sarah B. 
Cosgrave, J. O'Hara 
Cothran, Edward E. 
Crane, Lauren E. 
Cummins, Adley H. 
Cummins, Ella Sterling 



Daggett, Rollin Mallory 

Danziger, Dr. Gustav Adolph 

Davidson, Professor George 

Davis, Sam 

Dawson, Emma Frances 

Day, Mrs. 

Delano, A. 

Delmar, Alexander 

Denison, Alice 

Densmore, G. B. 

De Quille, Dan 

Derby, Colonel George Horatio 

Dickson, William O. 

Doran, James 

Dornev, Pat 







310 






355 






229 






89 






58 






398 






153 






400 






326 






m 






331 






144 




. 346 


-347 
398 
259 


• 




246 
23 


• 


103 


123 
158 





27 


149 
163 
324 
291 
91 
301 




99, 


306 




. 16 


111 




320, 


321 




. 154, 


250 

107 

226 

lOO 

18 

248 

189 

20 

18 

63 

334 

354 

278 



446 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Enderline, Mrs. 
Ewer, Ferdinand C. 
Eyster, Mrs. Nellie Blessing 



401 

34 

386 



Field, Mary H. 
Fitch, Mrs. Anna M. . 
Fitcli, George Hamlin 
Fitch, Thomas 
Foard, J. Macdonough 
Foote, Lucius Harwood 
Fremont, Jessie Benton 



237 

30, 299-300 

319 

298-299 

16 

2-56 

400 



Gaily, James W. 
Gassaway, Frank 
George, Henry 
Gibson, Mrs. Ellen 
Gilmour, John Hamilton 
Glasscock, Mary Willis 
Goodman, Joseph T. . 
Goodman, Lyman 
Goodrich, Sallie 
Goodwin, Judge C. C. 
Greene, Charles H. 
Greene, Clay Meredith 
Gunter, Archibald Clavering 



157 

186 

173 

119 

186 

246 

17, 59, 295-296 

56 

26 

110 

273 

. 341-343 

337-389 



Halstead, Ada L. (Mrs. J. M. Newman) 

Harrison, William Pitt 

Harte, Fi-ancis Bret 

Harte, Mrs. Mary . 

Hart, Jerome A. 

Heath, Kate 

Heaven, Louise Palmer 

Higginson, Ella . . . 

Highton, Henry E. . 

Hill-Wood, Mrs. M. F. C. 

Hittell, John S. . 

Hittell, Theodore H. . 

Holder, Charles Frederick 

Hoffman-Craig, Mary Lynde 

Holmes, Adelaide J. 

Hume, Hugh .... 

Hutchins, J. M. . 



397 
298 
17, 126 
399 
196 

99 
163 
189 

18 
402 
248 
247 
317 
389 
313 
324 

42 



INDEX — WRITERS MENTIONED. 



447 



Keeler, Ralpli 
Keith, Mrs. Eliza . 
Kendall, W. S. 
Kerr, Orpheus C. 
King, Clarence 
King, Starr . 

Kingsbury-Cooley, Mrs. Alice 
Kirby, Georgiana Bruce 
Knapp, Adeline E. 

Laurence, Mary V. 
Lawrence, Mrs. Elizabeth A. 
Le Conte, Joseph 
Lemmon, J. G. 
Leszinsky, David Lesser 
Lindley, Leila 
Linen, James 
Littleton, Lulu 

Loughead, Mrs. Flora Haines 
Lumrais, Dorothea 
Ludlow, Fitzbugh 
Lynch, Jeremiah 



J 54 

99, 388-389 

57 

18 

154 

17 

29, 386 

161 

390 

93 
402 

242 

273 

292-293 

99 

53 

30 

231, 313 

400 

18 

357 



Markham, Charles Edwin 
3Iarriott, Frederick 
Massett, Stephen 
McComas, Alice Moore 
McDonald, Calvin B. 
McDowell, Harry Borden 
McGlashan, C. F. . 
McEwen, Arthur 
McQuillan, James B. 
Melone, Locke 
Menken, Adah Isaacs 
Mighels, Henry Rust 
Millard, Frank Bailey 
Miller, Joaquin 
Miller, Minnie ]\Iyrtle 
Milne, Robert Duncan 
Morrill, Paul 
Morrison, Anna 
Morrow, William C. 
Muir, John 
Mulford, Prentice . 



250 
185 

21 
398 

70 
309 

98 
296-298 

97 
235 

25 

105 

220 

21, 135 

24 
219 

78 

27 
222 
155 
152 



448 CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Munson, Edward 
Murpliy, Miss Anna C. 
Murphy, Robert Wilson 

Nordofi; Charles . 
Norris, Frank . 

O'Connell, Daniel . 
Oft', Miss Louise A. 
Otis, Mrs. Eliza A. 

Pacheco, Mrs. Romualdo 
Paide, E. G. 

Parkhurst, Mrs. Emelie Tracy Y. 
Parsons, George Frederick 
Peterson, Ina Lillian . 
Phelan, James D. . 
Phelps, Charles Henry 
Phelps, Janette H. 
Pittsinger, Eliza 
Pixley, Frank M. . 
Pollock, Edward 
Powell, Euiily Browne 
Plunkett, Lillian 

Kealf, Richard 

Redding, Benjamin Barnard . 

Reed, Anna Morrison 

Rhodes, William H. . 

Richardson, Daniel S. 

Ridge. John R. 

Richmond, Hiram Hoyt 

Robertson, Peter 

Royce, Josiah 

Russell, Edmund 

Saxon, Isabel 
Savage, Richard Henry 
Savage, Lyttleton . 
Seabough, Samuel 
Severance, Mrs. Caroline M. 
. Sheehan, John F. 
Shcpard, Jesse 
Shuey, Lillian Hinman 





207 




40O 




356 




08 




:5.-)9 


188, 


344-346 




39a 




399 




343. 




17 


322, 


383-385 




96 




325 




274 




235 




26 




23 


. 


191 




34, 46 




391 




189,396 




212 




253 




395 




121 




238 




17, 49 


. 


305 




186 




273 


263, 


327-328 




99 


21, 


339-341 




347 




85 




401 




97 




292 


285, 


392-393 



INDEX — WRITERS MENTIONED. 



449 



Shinn, Charles Howard 
Sill, Edward Eoland . 
Somers, Frederick H. 
Sosso, Lorenzo 
Soule, Frank 
Stanton, Mrs. Mary O. 
Stetson, Charlotte Perkins 
Stoddard, Charles Warren 
Storke, Mrs. Yda Addis 
Swift, John Franklin . 



PAGE. 

275 

146 

. 195. 235 

360-361 

57 

887-38S 

189,390-391 

18, 148 

224 

lOS 



Thorpe, Rose Hartwick 

Tingley, Mary Viola 

Toland, Mary Bertha McKenzie 

Topsy Turvey . 

Townsend, Annie Lake 



401 

62 

394 

30 

99, 232 



Unger, Minnie Buchanan 
Urmy, Clarence 
Unknown Authors 



189, 305 
285 
363 



Victor, Frances F. 

Wagner, Madge Morris 
Wagner, Harr 
Waite, Frona Eunice 
W^alter, Carrie Stevens 
Wasson, Joseph 
Waters, Kate 
Watson, Mrs. Mary 

Watkins, 

Watson, Henry C. 
Webb, diaries Henry 
Webb, Henry . 
Webb, Louise H. 
Wentworth, May' 
White, Eichard Edward 
White, Laura Lyon 
White, N. E. 
Whitney, Professor J. D. 
Wiggin, Kate Douglass 
Wiley, Alice Denison 
Williamson, Mrs. Burton 
Willis, E. P. . 



23, 159 



281, 


400 




280 


315, 


325 


288 


-289 




114 




306 




29 




18 




83 




142 




90 




257 


26,55 




244 




161 




99 




154 


. 350- 


-352 


. 278, 


285 




399 




99 



450 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Wolf, Emma 

Woods, Virna 

Woodson, J. A. 

AVright, Elizabeth Chamberlain 

Wright, William . 



356 
394 
99 
333 
106 



Yelverton, Therese 



161 



HXTl^HCTS. 

Abraham Lincoln, by Joseph T. Goodman .... 

A Daughter of the House of David, extract from, by C. B. McDonald 

A Divine Guest, extract from, by Eliza Pittsinger 

After Sunset, by Anna Morrison ..... 

A Funeral in Florence, extract from, by Edmund Russell 

A Glimpse of Californian Journalism, extract from, by Alice D. Wiley 

A Man of Sorrows, but a Smiling Lord, quotation from, by Hiram Hoyt 

Richmond ........ 

A Meeting, by Charles Edwin Markham .... 

A Midsummer Afternoon, extract from, by W. S. Kendall 

A New Nation, extract from (original and condensed form), by Calvin 

B. McDonald ....... 

Apollyon the Destroyer, extract from, by Jimmy Linen 

A Red Letter Day, extract from, by Lucius Harwood Foote 

A Star at Twilight, extract from, by John RoUin Ridge 

A Trip to the Top, quotation from, by Harr Wagner 

A Vision, by Emily Browne Powell .... 

A Voice, by William O. Dickson .... 

A Wife of Three Days, by Carrie Stevens Walter 
A Wingless Butterfly, by Alice Denison Wiley . 

California, by Carrie Stevens Walter 
California, extract from, by Ina D. Coolbrith 
Calitornia, extract from, by Charles Warren Stoddard 
California, by Lillian Hinman Shuey .... 
Crepusculum, by Frank Norris .... 

Daggett, R. M., legend of . . ^ . . 

Death of Day, by Emelie T. Y. Parkhurst 
Decoration Day, extract from, by Emma Frances Dawson 
Doomswoman, The, extract from, by Gertrude Franklin Atherton 
Drama, extract from, by Mary Therese Austin 



59-60 

75-76 

24 

27 

263 

403 

305 

252 

58 

76 

54 

256 

52 

280-281 

391 

334-335 

289-290 

283-284 

289 
150 
149 
392 
360 

112 
385 

227-228 
349-350 
203-204 



INDEX — WRITERS MENTIONED — EXTRACTS. 



451 



PAGEy 

Eschscholtzia Californica, by Mary Lynde Hoffman-Craig . . 389-390 

Eschscholtzia Californica, by Mrs. Hall-Wood .... 402 

Evening, by Edward Pollock ...... 48 

Extract from Oscar Schuck's California Anthology, by Newton Booth . 89 

Famine, extract from, by Edmund Eussell .... 264 

Fish Culture, extract from, by B. B. Kedding .... 255 

Fishing on the Cloud River, extract from, by B. B. Redding . 255 

Flag on Fire, extract from, by Anna M. Fitch .... 62 

Hemlock in the Furrows, extract from, by Adah Isaacs Menken . 26 

Henry Clay Watson, comparison, by William H. Mills . . 84 

His Mother Made Him a Little Coat, by Fannie H. Avery . . 287 

History of the Donner Party, extract from, by C. F. McGlashan . 99 

Idol of High Prize, extract from, by Frank Bailey Millard . . 221 

I Feel I'm Growing Auld, Gude Wife, by Jimmy Linen . . . 53-54 

In a Hammock, by Kate M. Bishop 229-230 

Ineffable, The, by Ina Lillian Peterson .... 325-326 

In the Redwood Canyon, by Lillian Hinman Shuey . . . 393 

In the Sierras, extracts from, by Charles Warren Stoddard . 20-21 

In the Heroic Days, by Arthur McEwen ..... 116-118 

Invocation, by Ambrose Bierce ..... 181-184 

Jubilate, by Louise H. Webb ...... 258-259 

Lectures on Astronomy, extract from, by Colonel George H. Derby . 65 

Letter to Nicholas E. White, by Samuel Seabough . . . 86-87 

Lex Scripta, by Nathan Kouns ...... 264-267 

Lines by Edward Roland Sill ...... 147-148 

Lines by E. A. P. ........ 35 

Literature as a Profession for Women, by Ella Sterling Cummins . 365-376 
Love Endnreth After Death, by Daniel O'Connell . . .346 

Love Song, by John Vance Cheney ..... 261-262 

Lucille, extract from, by Anna M. Fitch .... 300 

Mills, William H., on Why Editors Discourage Young Writers from 

Indulging in Figures of Speech ..... 96 

Mountaineering in the Sierras, extract from, by Hubert H. Bancroft 154-155 
Mount Shasta, extract from, by John RoUin Ridge ... 50 

Motherhood, extract from, by Mary H. Field . . . 237-238 

My Darling's Face, extract from, by Stephen Massett ... 22 

My New Year's Guests, by R. M. Daggett .... 112-1 14 



Night on the Desert, extract from, by John Hamilton Gilmour 



434 



452 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



T PAGE. 

Official Report, extract from, by Colonel George H. Derby . . 65 

Old Glory, extract from, by p]mma Frances Dawson . . 227 

On the San Joaquin, extract from, by Lillian llinman Shney . . 392 

Our Flower, by John Vance Cheney ..... 262-263 

Parkhurst, Emelie T. Y., lines by ..... 385 

Poetry, by Charles Edwin Markham .... 251 

Politics in the Pulpit, extract from, by Ferdinand Ewer . . 40-41 

Quarrel With the Ancients, extract from, by J. Ross Browne . 68 

Question, by Daniel S. Richardson ..... 239-240 

Resurgam, extract from, by David Lesser Lezinsky . . 293 

Robert Greathouse, extract from, by John Franklin Swift . . 109 

Rocking the Baby, by Madge Morris Wagner . . . 282 

San Francisco Journalism, by Flora Haines Loughead . . . 377-381 

Sing Me a Ringing Anthem, by Daniel O'Connell . . . 345 

Song of the Shea-Oak, by Walter E. Adams .... 290-291 
Stanton's Practical and Scientific Physiognomy, or How to Read Faces, 

quotation from, by Mrs. Mary O. Stanton . . . 388^ 

Sunset, by Anna Morrison Reed ..... 395-396 

Susey, extract from, by Bret Harte ..... 129-130 

Sutter's Fort, by L. H. Foote ..... 256-257 



To A D., by Fannie H. Avery ..... 

The Ape and the Idiot, extract from, by William C. Morrow 

The Arizonian, extract from, by Bret Harte 

The Christmas Doll, extract from, by William Bausman 

The Exodus of Stock Operators, extract from, by Samuel Seabough 

To F. H., by Alice Denison Wiley ..... 

The Fair Tamborinist, extract from, by Lyman Goodman 

Two Great Jews, extract from, by Gustav Adolph Danziger 

The Good bye Kiss, by Lillian Plunkett .... 

The Harp of Broken Strings, extract from, by .John Rollin Ridge 

The Immortals, by Edward E. Cothran .... 

The Lyric of the Dawn, extract from, by Charles Edwin Markham 

To Lizzie, extract from, by John Rollin Ridge 

The Midnight Mass, extract from, by Richard Edward White 

The Miner's Ten Commandments, extract from, by J. M. Hutchings 

Together, extract from, by James F. Bowman 

The Passing of Tennyson, extract from, by Joaquin Miller 

The Parting Hour, extract from, by Edward Pollock 

The Poet, by Lorenz Sosso ..... 



288 
224 

134-135 
90 
88 

287-288 
56-57 

321-322 

396-897 

51-52 

292 

252-253 
51 

245-246 
44 
58 

139-140 
49 

361-362 



INDEX — WRITERS MENTIONED — SKETCHES, 



453 



To Ralph Smith, epitaph by Ambrose Bierce 

The Song, by Lauren Elliott Crane 

The Song of the Flume, extract from, by Anna M. Fitch 

To the Colorado Desert, by Madge Morris Wagner 

The Unborn Soul, by Charles H. Shinn 

The Yo Semite, extract from, by Olive Harper 

Under the Mist, extract from, by Topsy Turvy 

Vale, by Richard Realf ..... 
Vanities, extract from, by Adelaide J. Holmes 

AVhen I am Dead, bv Elizabeth Chamberlain Wright 



PAGE. 

181 

91-92 

61 

283-284 
276 
120 

32 

212-213 
314-315 

333-334 



Yuma, by Charles Henry Phelps 

Yo Semite, by AVallace Bruce 

Young Women on the Stage, by Peter Robertson 

Yusef, extracts from, by J. Ross Browne 

Yvernelle, extract from, by Frank Norris 

Zanthon, extract from, by Kate Douglass Wiggin 



236 

331-333 

428-431 

67-68 

359 

352-354 



SI^ETCHES. 



Abend Post (German), sketch by the author .... 408 

Adams, Walter E., sketch by the author ..... 290-291 
Addis, Yda, sketch by the author ..... 224-226 
Alta California, sketch by James Prentiss Cramer . . . 405 

American Flag, sketch by the author ..... 418 

Annie Laurie, sketch by the author ..... 425 

Argonaut, The, sketch by Jerome A. Hart . . • . . 204-212 

Atherton, Gertrude Franklin, sketch from Lippincott's Magazine . 347-348 

Austin, Mary Therese, sketch by Adele Chretien . . . 200-203 

Austin, Mary Therese, sketch by Peter Robertson . . . 198-200 

Austin, Mary Therese, sketch by the author .... 198 

Avery, Fannie H., sketch by the author . . . . 286-288 

Avery, Benjamin P., sketch by the author .... 151-152 



Bancroft, Hubert H., sketch by the author 
Bancroft's Histories, sketches by Hubert H. Bancroft 
Barnes, George E., sketch by the author 
Bartlett, William B., sketch by the author 
Booth, Hon. Newton, sketch by the author 



167 

167-172 

415 

152 

89 



454 



CAI.TFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 



Bowman, Mrs. Mary C, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by (Charles Edwin Markham 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by the author .... 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by Mrs. Adele Chretien 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by George Hamlin P^itch 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by W. C. Morrow 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by Mrs. Atherton .... 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by E. II. Clough 

Bierce, Ambrose, sketch by Charles Edwin Markham 

Bigelow, Henry Derby, sketch by Arthur McEwen 

Bishop, Kate M., sketch by the author .... 

Black Beetles in Amber, by Ambrose Bierce, sketch by Arthur ^IcEwen 
Black Beetles in Amber, by Ambrose Bierce, sketch by J. O'Hara Cos- 
grave ........ 

Boyce, William A., sketch by the author .... 

Bret Harte's AVorks, comments on by himself . 

Bret ilarte, sketch by Gilbert T>. Densmore .... 

Browne, Genevieve Lucille, sketch by the author 

Browne, J. Ross, sketch by the author .... 

Brown, Clara Spalding, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Brooks, Noah, sketch by the author ..... 

Brooks, Noah, sketch by George Hamlin Fitch . . . . 

Bruce, Wallace, sketch by the author ..... 

Bunker, William Mitchell, sketch by the author 



PAGE. 

398 
178 

177-178 
178 
178 

180-181 
180 
180 
181 

310-31 -2 

229-230 
179 

179 

414-415 

130-134 

20 

326 
66-68 

401 
153-154 

154 

331 
419-420 



California Deniokrat (German), sketch by the author . 

Californian Illustrated Magazine, sketch of, by Genevieve L. Browne 

(^alifornian. The, sketch by the author .... 

Californian, The, sketch from the Boston Evening Transcript 

Californian, The, sketch by the author .... 

Californian, The, sketch by Charles Henry AVebb 

Carmany, John H., sketch by the author .... 

Carleton, Henry Guy, sketch by the author 

Carr, Mrs. Jeanne, sketch by the author .... 

Carr, Jeanne C, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Cheney, AVarren, sketch by the author .... 

Chretien, Adele, sketch by the author .... 

Chronicle, sketch by the author ..... 

Cliftord, Josephine (McCrackin), sketch by the author . 

Cliflbrd, Josephine, sketch by H. H. Bancroft . . ^ . 

Cothran, Edward E., sketch by the author 

Cooper, Sarah B., sketch by the author .... 

Coolbrith, Ina D., sketch l\v the author .... 

Crane, Lauren Elliott, sketch by the author .... 



407 

317-319 

234-267 

141 

141-143 

143 

14(; 

346-347 

322 

398 

246-248 

424-42r> 

426-427 

158-159 

159 

291 

165 

149-151 

91 



INDEX — EXTRACTS. 



455 



PAGE. 

Cheney, John Vance, sketch by the author .... 259-261 

Cummins, Adley H., sketch by the author .... 301-30r> 

Cummins, Adley H., sketch by William Emmette Coleman . 303 

Cummins, Adley H., sketch by Dr. Gustav Adolph Danziger 302 

Cummins, Adley H., sketch by Ambrose Bierce .... 302 

Cummins, Ella Sterling, sketch of, from the World's Fair Magazine 306 

Daggett, Rollin Mallory, sketch by the author . . 111-114 

Davidson, Professor George, sketch by the author . . . 250 

Davis, Sam, sketch by the author ..... 107-108 

Dawson, Emma Frances, sketch by Ambrose Bierce . . . 22St 

Dawson, Emma Frances, sketch by John Boyle O'Reilly . . 227 

Dawson, Emma Frances, sketch from the Boston Pilot . . . 22() 

Dawson, Emma Frances, sketch by the author . . . 226 

Del Mar, Alexander ....... 248-250 

Densmore, Gilbert B., sketch by the author . . . 415 

Derby, Horatio, sketch by the author ..... 61-65 

De Young, M. H., sketch by the author .... 427 

Dickson, William O., sketch by the author .... 334 

Early Overland Tales, sketch by Sarah B. Cooper . . 164-166 

Egyptian Sketches, sketch by George Hamlin Fitch . . . 357-359 

Enderline, Mrs., sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . . 401 

Evening Bulletin, sketch br the author ..... 409-410 
Evening Report, sketch by the author .... 419-420 

Evening Post, sketch by the author ..... 435 

Examiner, sketch from Illustrated Californian . . . 423-424 

Examiner, sketch by Allan Kelly ..... 421-423 

Eyster, Mrs. Nellie Blessing, sketch by the author . . . 386 

Field, Mary 11. , sketch by the author . . . . 237 

Fitch, Anna M., sketch by the author ..... 299-301 
Fitch, Deacon George K., sketch by the author . . . 413-414 

Fitch, George Hamlin, sketch by the author . . 319-320, 428 

Fitch, Thomas, sketch by the author ..... 298-299 

Foote, Lucius Harwood, sketch by the author . . . 256-257 

Fremont, Jessie Benton, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . 400 



Gaily, James W., sketch by the author 
George, Henry, sketch by Dr. Edward Taylor 
Ceorge, Henry, sketch by the author 
Gilbert, Frank Millard, sketch by the author 
Gilmour,John Hamilton, sketch by George Hamlin Fitch 
Gilmour, John Hamilton, sketch by the author 



157-158 

173-176 

89 

415 

432 

432-433 



456 



CALIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



PAGE. 

Glasscock, Mary AVillis, sketch by the author .... 246 

Golden Guess, The, by John Vance Cheney, sketch by George H. Fitch 261 

Golden Era, The, sketch by J. Macdonough Foard . . . 17-19 

Golden Era, The, sketch by the author .... 11-22 

Goodman, Judge C. C, sketch by the author . . . .110 

Goodman, Joseph Thompson, sketch by tlie author . . . 295-296 

Greene, Clay Meredith, sketch by the author .... 341-343 
Greene, Charles S., sketch by Flora Haines Lougliead . . 272-273 

Gunter, Archibald Clavering, sketch by the author . . . 338-339 



Ilalstead, Ada L. (Mrs. J. M. Newman), sketch by the author 

Hall-AVood, Mrs. M. F. C, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Harper, Olive, sketch by the author .... 

Harrison, William Pitt, sketch by the author 

Harte, Mrs. Mary, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Harte, Francis Bret, sketch by the author 

Harte, Francis Bret, sketch by Gilbert B. Densmore 

Hart, Jerome A., sketch by the author 

Hart, Jerome A., sketch by Frank B. Millard 

Hart, Jerome A., sketch by Yda Addis . . . 

Heaven, Louise Palmer, sketch by the author 

Hesperian, The, sketch by the author 

Hittell, John S., sketch by the author 

Hittell, Theodore H., sketch by the author 

Hoffman-Craig, Mary Lynde, sketch by the author 

Holmes, Adeline J., sketch by the author 

Hutchins, J. M., sketch by the author 



397 

402 

119-120 

298 

399 

126-135 

20 

196 

196-197 

197-198 

163 

100-101 

248 

248 

389 

313-314 

42-46 



Incomparable Three, sketch by the author 



123-140 



Keeler, Ralph, sketch from Somer's California Magazine 
Keith, Mrs. Eliza, sketch by the author . 
Kelly, Allan, sketch from the Examiner 
King, Clarence, sketch by H. H. Bancroft 
Kingsbury-Cooley, Mrs. Alice, sketch by the author 
Kirby, Georgiana Bruce, sketch by the author 
Knapp, Adeline E., sketch by the author 
Knapp, Adeline E., sketch by Mrs. Eliza Keith 



154 

388-389 
424 
154-155 
386-387 
162 
390 
390 



Later Golden Era, The, sketch by the author .... 277-289 
Later Overland, The, sketch by the author .... 268-276 
Laurence, Mary Y., sketch by the author .... 92-93 

Lawrence, Mrs. Elizabeth A., sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 402 

Le Conte, Joseph, sketch from the Overland . . . 242-243 



INDEX — SKETCHES. 



457 



PAGE. 

Le Conte, Josepli, sketch by David Lesser Lezinsky . . . 243-244 

I^ezinsky, David Lesser, sketch by the author . . . 292-293 

Linen, Jimmy, sketch by the author ..... 52-54 

Literary Industries, sketcli by Hubert H. Bancroft . . . 167 

Loughead, Mrs. Flora Haines, sketch by the author . . . 231-232 

Loughead, Mrs. Flora Haines, sketch by Mrs. Atherton . . 232 

Lummis, Dorothea, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . . 400 

Markham, Charles Edwin, sketch by the author . . 250-252 

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), sketch by the author . . . 123-126 

McDonald, Calvin B., sketch by the author .... 70-76 

McComas, Alice Moore, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . 398 

McEwen, Arthur, sketch by the author .... 296-298 

McGlashan, C. F., sketch by the author . . . . . 98-99 

McQuillan, James B., sketch by the author .... 97-98 

Mighels, Henry Bust, sketch by Philip Verrill Mighels . . 105-106 

Millard, Frank Bailey, sketch by the author .... 220-222 

Miller, Joaquin, sketch by the author ..... 135-138 

Miller, Joaquin, sketch by Ambi-ose Bierce .... 138-140 

Milne, Robert Duncan, sketch by Mrs. Atherton . . . 219-220 

Morning Call, sketch by the author ..... 411-416 

Morris, Madge, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . . 400 

Morrow, AVilliam C, sketch by the author .... 222 

Morrow, William C, sketch by Gertrude Franklin Atherton . 223 

Morrow, William C, sketch from the Library and Studio . 22^^ 

Muir, John, sketch by Theodore S. Solomons . . . 155-157 

Mulford, Prentice, sketch by the author ..... 152-153 

Murphy, Robert Wilson, sketch by Charles Shortridge j._ _^ . 356-357 

Murphy, Miss Anna C, sketch by Emma Leckle MjcfsEaTl . 400 

News Letter, The, sketch by the author .... 185-186 

ISTordoff, Charles, sketch by the author . . . 68-69 

Norris, Frank, sketch by Boston Home Journal . . . 359-360 

Norris, Frank, sketch by the Overland Monthly . . 360 

O'Connell, Daniel, sketch by the author .... 344-346 

Off, Miss Louise A., sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . . 398 

Other Things Being Equal, review of, from the Overland . 356 
< )tis, Mrs. Eliza A., sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . . .399 

Overland Scho.)l, The, sketch by the author .... 144-165 

Overland School, The, sketch by John H. Carmany . . . 145 

Overland School, The, sketch by Millicent Washburn Shinn . 269-272 

Pacheco, Mrs. Romualdo, sketch by the author .... 343 

Parkhurst, Mrs. Emelie Tracy Y., sketch by the author . 322, 383-384 



458 



CAUFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



PAGE. 

Parkhurst, Mrs. Emelie Tracy Y., sketch by Callie Bonney Marble . 385 

Parsons, George Frederick, sketch by the author . . . 96-97 

Phelan, James D., sketch by tlie author ..... 274 

Phelps, Charles Henry, sketch by the author . . 235-23() 

Pickering, Loring, sketch by the author .... 413-414 

Picturesque California, .sketch by George Hamlin Fitch . . 329-330 

Picturesque California, sketch by the author . . . 329 

Pioneer Magazine, The, sketch b^ the author .... 34-40 
Pixley, Frank M., sketcli by W. F. Swasey ... 193 

Pixley, Frank M., sketch by Flora Haines Loughead . . 193-194 

Pixley, Frank M., sketch by Yda Addis .... 194 

Plunkett, Lillian, sketch by the author ..... 39(> 

Plunkett, Lillian, sketch by D. S. Kichardson ... 396 

Poetry of the Pacific, by May Wentworth, sketch by the author . 55-62 

Pollock, Edward, sketch by the author .... 46-49 

Poseidon's Paradise, criticism on, by the Overland . . . 355-356 

Powell, Emily Brown, sketcli by the author .... 391 

Eecord-Union, The, sketch by Ex-Governor Daggett ... 80 

Record-Union, The, sketch by General Jolin F. Sheehan . SI 

Record-Union, The, sketch by the author .... 95-96 

Redding, Benjamin Barnard, sketch by the author . . . 253-254 

Redding, Benjamin Barnard, sketch by Hon. Robert Stearns . . 254 

Reed, Anna Morrison, sketch by the author . . . • . 395 

Rhodes, W. H., sketch by the author .... .121-122 

Rhodes, W. H., sketch by W. H. L. Barnes . . . .122 

Richardson, Daniel S., sketch by the author .... 238-240 
Richardson, Daniel S., sketch from the Library and Studio . 240-242 

Ridge, John RoUin, sketch by the author .... 49-52 

Robertson, Peter, sketch by Mrs. Gertrude Atherton . . 431 

Robertson, Peter, sketch by the author .... 428 

Russell, Edmund, sketch by the author ..... 263-267 

Sacramento Union, sketch by the author .... 75-95 

Sam Davis, sketch by the author ...... 107-108 

San Franciscan, The, sketch by the author .... 294-306 

Savage, Lyttleton, sketch by the author ..... 347 

Savage, Richard Henry, sketch by the author . . . 339-341 

Seabough, Samuel, sketch by Lauren E. Crane .... 87-88 

Seabough, Samuel, sketch by George H. Fitch . . . 84-85 

Severance, Mrs. Caroline M., sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall . 402 

Sheehan, John F., sketch by the author .... 97 

Shinn, Charles Howard, sketch by the author .... 275-276 

Shinn, Millicent Washburn, sketch by D. S. Richardson . . 272 

Shuey, Lillian Hinraan, sketch by the author .... 392-393 

Sill, Edward Rowland, sketcli by the author . . . 146-148 



INDEX — SKETCHES. 



459 



Somers, Fred M., sketch by the author 
Sosso, Lorenzo, sketch by the author . 
Stanton, Mrs. Mary O., sketch by the author 
Stetson, Charlotte Perkins, sketch by the author 
Stock, Ernest C, sketch by the author 
Stoddard, Charles Warren, sketch by the author 
Swift, John Franklin, sketch by the author 



PAGE. 

195-196 
360-361 
387-388 
390-391 
416 
148-149 
108-110 



The Amagnis, a Lyrical Drama, by Virna Woods, criticism by George 
Hamlin Fitch ....... 

The Argonaut School, sketch by the author .... 

Thorpe, Rose Hartwick, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

The Forty-niners, sketch by Hubert H. Bancroft 

Territorial Enterprise, sketch by Arthur McEwen 

Toland, Mary Bertha McKenzie, sketch by the author . 

Townsend, Annie Lake, sketch by the author 

Townsend, Edward L., sketch from the Cosmopolitan Magazine 

The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter, by Ambrose Bierce, sketch by 
George Hamlin Fitch ...... 

The Mormons in Utah, editorial on, by Judge C. C. Goodwin 

The Women of the Golden Era, sketch by the author . . 

Union, comment on, by Ex-Governor Daggett 

Union, comment on the death of, by General John F. Sheehan 

Unger, Minnie Buchanan, sketch by the author 

Upton, Matthew G., sketch by the author .... 



Victor, Frances F., sketch by the author 

Wagner, Madge Morris, sketch by the author 

Wagner, Madge Morris, sketch by Joaquin Miller . 

Walter, Carrie Stevens, sketch by the author 

Wasp, The, sketch by the author . . . . 

Wasson, .Joseph, sketch by the author 

Watson, Henry Clay, sketch by William H. Mills 

Wave, The, sketch by the author . 

Webb, Louise H., sketch bp the author 

Weekly Monitor, sketch by the author 

White, Eichard Edward, sketch by the author 

Wiggin, Kate Douglass, sketch by Alice W. Rollins 

Wiley, Alice Denison, sketch by the author . 

Williamson, Mrs. Burton, sketch by Emma Leckle Marshall 

Woods, Virna, sketch by the author . . . . 

Wright, Elizabeth Chamberlain, sketch by the author 



393-394 

190-193 
401 
171 

116-118 
394 
232 

218-219 

179 
110 

23-33 

80 

81 

313 

410 

159-161 

281-283 

281-284 

288-289 

187-189 

114-115 

84 

323-326 

257 

417 

244 

351 

285 

399 

393-394 

333 



460 



CAI^IFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE. 



Writers of the Sagebrush School, sketch by the author 

Yelverton, Therese, sketch by J. M. Hutchins 
Young, John P., sketch by the author 



PAGE. 

102-118 

161 

427-428 




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* A REVIEW OF * 

CAIvIFORNIAN WRITERS AND LITERATURE 

BY EliUn STEl^LiIflG CUlHlVIIflS. 

ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CALIFORNIAN WORLD'S FAIR 
COMMISSION, COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, 1893. 

" No matter where uttered, a great thought never dies." 

This volume contains a review of the literary journals and magazines of 
California from 1852 to 1892, including brief sketches and portraits of many 
journalists and authors who wrote for tiiem. 

Octavo, leatl^erette boUr\d, poppy decoratiori, profusely illustrated, 

450 pages, price $2.00, subscriber's editioq. 

Usual discouqt to libraries. 



-A-ddress 



ELLA STERLING CUMMINS, 

1605 Bakep St., San ppaneiseo. 



OPINIONS OK THE PRESS, LIBRARIANS AND OTHERS. 

"This bojk by Mrs. Ella Sterling Cummins will contain matter that can be 
found only in old magazines and in books that have been long out of print. 
She is an accomplished writer and an editor of rare judgment. Hence her 
book which has been a labor of love, will be of great value to any ore inter- 
ested in Californiau literature.— George Hamlin Fitch, literary editor S. F. 
Chronicle. 

"Your book review, biography and bibliography in one— of which I have 
seen some early pages, must be of great value to libraries, to those outside the 
State as well as our own, and I look for its appearance with great interest."— 
Horace Wilson, Librarian of Mechanics' Institute. 

"Certainly no reference library will be complete without having this 
volume upon its shelves."— Edmund TAOSZKV.Vice-Prest. Mercantile Library. 

"Mrs. Cummins has gathered up the threads of the initial literary at- 
tempts on this Coast, and s > rendered essential service,"— John Vanck 
Cheney. Librarian Free Public Library. 



L -1-, 



